At the Crossroads of Destiny and Time: Untold Lies
by Gwendolyn Rogan
Summary: .Part II. Keilana has been at the Jedi Temple for over a year and is growing restless. When given charge of a mission with the help of Kyp and the Solo Twins, a deeper, darker plot unveils itself and leads Keilana down a path from which few return.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to George Lucus and there's no way getting around it. However, the plot and certain characters (i.e. the ones that don't and will never appear in movies or books, etc.) belong to me and are my creations.  
  
  
A/N - Welcome to ACDT Part II: Untold Lies. There was just too much story to include it all in one story so I've broken Keilana's story down as you can see. I hope you enjoy this one as you did the other! Oh yes, one more thing of some importance. Seeing as school is starting up right soon, I will be unable to post quite as often as I did over the summer. Seeing as that pretty much explains itself, I'll let you move on to the story. Enjoy!  
  
--------  
  
  
  


  
**At the Crossroads of Destiny and Time Part II:  
Untold Lies  
**  
  
  
Prologue  


  
  
_Approximately one month after the conclusion of ACDT Part I: The Hunted_  
  
Coruscant. A great planet that grows only buildings and crime. No natural plant remains, not even the peak of a mountain nor an ocean unsupported by buildings. But it is not dead. No, the buildings create a jungle of their own, animals of all species and variety finding their own life among the duracrete trees and thickets. Animals who seem tireless, creatures able to live without sleep, who need only florescent lights, pounding rhythms, and colourful drinks to sustain them. They are the animals who confirm rumors that say Coruscant never sleeps. People—non- and human alike—flock to tucked away, seedy bars or high-class gambling clubs to spend what money they have to their name—or even the money they don't. Coruscant is the kind of planet that teems with life, all day and all night, the flickering lights like stars of their own.  
  
While life teemed outside the Jedi Temple, most of its occupants were already asleep, exhausted from their day's work and learning. The Jedi, masters and students, had retired to their respective rooms to sleep, meditate, or rest, for it was late at night, despite the life and lights outside. Some would call the Jedi sensible while others would call them fools to not enjoy the life around them, the life they surround themselves with. There were even some within the Temple who wished to be free, those who wished they could hop from bar to bar, flirting their way into free drinks and being Lady Luck for some random handsome face.  
  
But that part of her life was over, she told herself. Those days when she was carefree and all she had to care about was her hide and her ship were gone, whisked away by one mistake, one bounty, and one love.  
  
Sitting cross-legged in a plush chair was Keilana, bounty hunter turned Jedi student. She was hunched over her knees, her chin resting in one hand, her eyes closed. Though not asleep, Keilana was not sure how awake she actually was but, in her mind, there was no way she could sleep, not now. She had messed up, there was no other way to put it. She had messed up. She had done everything her father had warned her against and then some. Pressing her lips together, Keilana sat back and rested one hand against her softly rounded belly. How could this have happened? She was too careful, she had used every precaution, and yet she had still ended uppregnant.  
  
Squeezing her eyes against long suppressed tears, Keilana blinked several times and stared straight out the window and into the mesmerising lights of Coruscant's night life. The tears flowed silently down her cheeks, burning her skin as they went, but she did not sob. She dare not sob or, ultimately, fell sorry for herself. This was her doing. This was all her fault. It was she who decided to use her body to get to that smuggler, she who had lured him into that bed Keilana shook her head, she could not think about it any longer. It sickened her to no end. This child, this child was not  
  
Glancing over at the bed she had left, Keilana felt another tear slide down her cheek to drip from her chin. How would she tell him? No doubt he had already noticed her swelling belly, but he was too polite to say anything about it. Or maybe he really hadn't noticed. Frowning and shifting her glance to her feet, Keilana started to wriggle her toes. Of course she would have to tell him, otherwise he would probably assume the child was his. And, no matter how much she wished it to be so, Keilana knew that Ganner Rhysode was not the father of her child. They simply hadn't known each other long enough.  
  
Biting down hard on her lower lip and wiping a hand across her cheek, Keilana stood and pulled her robe tighter around her otherwise bare body. Crossing the room quickly, Keilana sat next to the sleeping form of Ganner and ran a hand over his hair, flicking pieces of it from his face. He needed a haircut, she smiled softly to herself. His hair was getting far too long. Pushing another piece behind his ear, Keilana simply looked at him, taking in his features in a rare moment when there was not the usual cocky tilt to his lips or that playful gleam in his blue eyes. He was simplypeaceful. So like a child.  
  
Smiling softly down on him, Keilana took his exposed hand in hers and entwined her fingers in his. As she kissed his knuckles softly, Ganner awoke. He did not move nor did he allow his breathing to quicken. He simply watched her for a few precious seconds before tugging slightly at her hand. Keilana started and glanced at him.  
  
she smiled wider, running a hand over his hair again. Her speech habits differed slightly now than they had when they had first met. As Keilana had grown more comfortable with her surroundings, she had let the accent so like her father's slip. She figured she might as well become herself wholly and completely now that the Jedi knew what she was. I didn't mean to wake you.  
  
I don't mind, Ganner said, rolling onto his back to stare at the ceiling. He still held Keilana's hand in his, though she had to move slightly to adjust to his new position as well.   
  
After several moments of silence, Ganner turned his gaze on Keilana. Her eyes had slid shut again, her legs crossed in front of her. Furrowing his brow, Ganner sat up and turned to face her.   
  
What's wrong?  
  
Came Keilana's immediate response.  
  
That's not a very good answer, Ganner said, leaning forward and wiping a tear from Keilana's cheek with his calloused thumb. You wouldn't be crying over nothing.  
  
It's just that it's complicated and—  
  
I don't want excuses, Key. Please. I don't like seeing you in pain.  
  
I'm not in pain.  
  
Then what's wrong?  
  
Keilana sighed and turned to face Ganner. Though awake, there was no grin nor that familiar gleam. All there was was a deep concern in his eyes, a small frown on his lips. How was she going to tell him? Shaking her head for herself, Keilana took her hand out of Ganner's. Then, pulling his hand forward, she rested it on her stomach.  
  
Tell me the truth, Ganner. What do you feel?  
  
  
  
Don't be afraid, poster boy, Keilana said, trying to give him a small smile. It wasn't coming. I don't care what you say. Tell me exactly what you feel and what you have noticed.  
  
Ganner trailed off and glanced at the blanket, unsure of what to say. He heard Keilana sigh again and, opening her robe slightly, she pushed his hand against warm, soft skin, her hand on top of his.  
  
What do you feel?  
  
Now, don't take this the wrong way, Key, Ganner said, starting again. But it seems as if, lately, you've been putting on a little weight.  
  
Ganner prepared himself for the blow that didn't come. When he looked closer at the woman in front of him, rather than a scowl, he saw her nod, a small smile spreading across her face.  
  
That's because we are not alone, Ganner. Keilana paused for the briefest of moments and, just as she said the words out loud, Ganner heard them in his own voice, resounding through his head. I'm pregnant.  
  
Keilana was not exactly sure what reaction Ganner would have to her news, but what he did certainly surprised her. In one leap, Ganner was out of bed, ignoring his state of undress, and holding Keilana tightly against him. Keilana hardly had the heart to tell him the child wasn't his, so she let him rejoice for a little longer, guilt pulsing through her veins with each passing moment.  
  
When he finally did calm down, Ganner sat back on the bed, his legs over the edge, holding Keilana in his lap.  
  
How long have you known?  
  
Keilana choked. Certainly he would be smart enough to figure it out once she told him. She tried to sound strong, but her voice came out as a mere squeak. Nearly a month.  
  
That long and you didn't tell me?  
  
Well, you see, that's kind of the thing Keilana trailed off and began inspecting her fingernails. Then, bringing her forefinger to her mouth, she started to chew on the nail, her gaze locked on Ganner's chest. It—he—the child isn't exactly  
  
Isn't exactly what?  
  
Isn't exactly yours.  
  
What do you mean?  
  
Do I have to spell it out for you? Keilana snapped, her gaze locking into Ganner's. The child doesn't belong to you. You're not the father. Is any of this getting through to you? Ganner looked as if someone had just smacked him over the head with a side of nerf. Look, I'm sorry about being so blunt about it, but I didn't want to get your hopes up too much.  
  
Well you sure acted like the child was mine, Ganner accused, his voice harsher than he intended it to be. However, he did not apologise.  
  
I'm sorry, but I didn't know any other way to tell you rather than blurt the entire story out before telling you the news. Keilana bit her lower lip again and started playing with the hem of her robe. You can still pretend.  
  
Who is the father?  
  
Keilana winced. This was the part she was dreading above all else. He—he was a big time smuggler, one I was actually hunting. Haun, Haun Frisck.  
  
Did you love him?  
  
He was just a job.  
  
Just a job? Ganner sounded disgusted. This made Keilana's stomach turn.  
  
Yeah, you see—well, it's actually kind of funny once you think about it—I would use my body to make men trust me and as soon as they were incapacitated, bam! I would knock em out and drag them off to where ever they needed to be or kill them if that's what I was hired to do.  
  
And this Frisck was your last job before coming to the Temple?  
  
Keilana nodded.  
  
And his fate was?  
  
He had two bounties on his head, one from the Lady Añaa Geiv Ulkin and the other by Brindao, a big, slimy, greedy Hutt. I got three million for him from the latter. The former, well, I'm having some problems with her. Keilana continued to play with the hem of her robe until Ganner grabbed her hand. For a moment, she stopped moving all together. Looking up at Ganner, Keilana expected to find his expression angry, his eyes hard. What she found, however, was quite the opposite. Ganner wrapped his arms around Keilana and pulled her close.  
  
What a rotten thing to do. But there is nothing you can do about that now and we certainly cannot blame the child. I guess we _can_ blame the mother, Ganner grinned, but what good would that be? She was only doing her job, Ganner whispered in her ear. Keilana smiled.  
  
What do you mean?  
  
As in your job? You were ridding the galaxy of scum, Keilana, one man at a time, though I certainly don't blame him for falling victim to your game.  
  
Fuck you, Keilana muttered. Burying her face in Ganner's hair and neck, Keilana felt the tears well in her eyes once again. However, these were very different tears than before. Sighing, Keilana blinked. Thank you for understanding, Ganner. If you didn't, then I was sure no one would accept me any longer and that things would be even worse for the child.  
  
Ganner nodded but did not respond. He did not want Keilana to see the look on his face, the look that would have told her he ultimately disapproved. It took longer than he would have liked to wipe the look from his face.   
  
After a few moments of silence, Ganner spoke up. Now, what are these problems you're having with this Lady  
  
Añaa Geiv Ulkin. Well, you see, she was a little upset about the whole me bringing Haun to Brindao' scenario. So, being the spoiled, haughty, diplomat living in the middle of the Tattooinian desert that she is, she placed a bounty on my head that is getting larger by the week, I'm sure. Last I checked it was up to about one-point-five million New Republic credits. Really, I can't go anywhere people will recognise me cause they'll do an awfully messy job of my capture and end up bringing me to the Lady in a matchbox. Personally, I would rather stay recognisably me and human. As she said this, Keilana's eyes grew hard, her knuckles white as she clenched her hands into fists.  
  
And this is that same woman you were talking to at that party awhile back?  
  
One in the same, Keilana growled. Pushing her way off Ganner's lap, she moved around him to lay on her back, her robe falling open as she pulled the sheet up to her hips. I've managed to kill every bounty hunter she's sent, and even the ones she hasn't, but with the child, I won't be able to anymore. With the extra weight and expanded waist Well, I'm sure you can imagine.  
  
Are you scared? Ganner repositioned himself so that he was laying on his stomach next to her. With his head cradled in his arms, Ganner trained his blue eyes on the side of her face.  
  
Keilana's answer came only as a nod.  
  
Ganner ran his tongue over dry lips, thinking of what to say. He made a move to pull the sheet over him as well, but quickly realized that there was none there for him to have. Keilana had rolled onto her side, taking the blankets with her. Pressing his lips together in slight annoyance, Ganner spooned himself against his lover and pulled at the blankets to cover them both. Then, draping his hand over her stomach and nuzzling into the back of Keilana's neck, Ganner opened his mouth to speak.  
  
I'll always be here for you, Keilana, he said softly, his voice barely a whisper. You and your child.  
  
Keilana's shoulders started to shake silently and Ganner pulled her closer. Spinning in his arms, Keilana rested her forehead on his chest and wrapped an arm around his ribs, pulling him close. Ganner started to rub his hand slowly up and down Keilana's back and tattooed arm, trying to comfort her but saying nothing. There was nothing he could say or knew to say to make her feel any better. And Keilana appreciated him for it. She didn't need words, she didn't need to hear him say he loved her, she just needed him to be there for her, to always be there.  
  
After several moments had passed, Keilana pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes, silently laughing at herself. Look at me, she said. I'm a big, blubbering baby of a bounty hunter unable to control her emotions.  
  
So you still refer to yourself as a bounty hunter.  
  
That's what I was raised to be. The words came out before Keilana even realized they did. The only hint that she had said something odd was the look on Ganner's face. What? What did I say?  
  
That you were raised to be a bounty hunter. What kind of a parent would to that to their child?  
  
Well, that does certainly bring up an interesting point.  
  
And what would that point be?  
  
Keilana didn't say anything for awhile. She just closed her eyes and leaned forward into Ganner's chest, breathing slowly. For a moment, Ganner actually thought Keilana had fallen asleep but when she sighed and shifted to look him in the eye, he knew this was something serious.  
  
What is it? Is this point something that I really shouldn't be even asking about?  
  
No, it's not that, Keilana shook her head, It's just that, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone what I am about to tell you, she said, her voice dead serious. Ganner was surprised but he agreed. Biting her lip, Keilana's eyes wandered around for a moment, thinking, before she locked them back into Ganner's gaze. She finally sighed and furrowed her brow slightly.  
  
It's about my father.  
  
Yes, I got that much.  
  
No, it's not about what he did for a living or even what he did to me but Trailing off, Keilana swallowed the lump in her throat. Well, it's about who he is. No one really knows him, no one but me that is, but at the same time, he—he's infamous. His father was the same and their armour— Keilana shook her head and looked at Ganner's chest. Their armour is known wider than their name.  
  
So no one knows who he is, but he's known the galaxy wide? His armour is far more famous than his name and his father was a bounty hunter as well with the same uniform? Keilana nodded and Ganner sighed. I'm not in the mood for riddles, Key.  
  
I—I just don't know how people will react if I let even one person know who he is. Master Skywalker knows but only by mistake and an entire crime organization found out, somehow, but other than that, Keilana shrugged. Really, my relation to him is a highly guarded secret and—  
  
Who is he.  
  
You wouldn't happen to recognise the name Boba Fett, would you?  
  
Ganner sat up and glared down at Keilana. Like I said, I'm not in the mood for games.  
  
Do you think this is something I would joke about? Keilana sat up as well and pulled her robe tightly closed.  
  
I don't know, you certainly are full of tricks.  
  
The words hurt, perhaps even more than Ganner meant for them too. Tears of pain and anger started to burn their way down Keilana's cheeks as she stood up and paced away from the bed. In a low voice, she muttered, I thought you said you'd always be there for me, Ganner.  
  
What did you say?  
  
_You said you'd always fucking be there for me!_ Keilana screeched as she spun on her heel. Just now, just a few moment's ago. Does my lineage suddenly change all of that? Does everything change now that I am being straight and honest with you?  
  
He's the most notorious gangster in the galaxy, Keilana. How can you possibly expect me to believe—  
  
Notoriety does not equal celibacy, Ganner. You can't possibly believe that after all of the fucking around he did that at least one child would not be produced? Keilana's hair curtained her face as her dark eyes glowed in what light the room had to offer. It's only lucky for me that my mother was not some diseased whore.  
  
Not that you're much different, Ganner said before thinking it over. As soon as he realized what he had said, he looked up at Keilana and tried to apologise to no avail. Keilana had already pulled on some clothing and was heading toward the door. Look, Keilana— a blaster aimed his way shut Ganner up.  
  
Wrong move, Rhysode, she growled before disappearing into the hallway. Ganner stared at the spot she had just occupied unsure of what to do.   
  
He couldn't believe he had just lost her.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. The Cycle Begins Anew

  
  
  
  
The Cycle Begins Anew  
  
  
  
Gods almighty, Ganner! I'm not helpless! Keilana's voice could be heard from across the abandoned hanger where a shadowed figure stood, watching, waiting. Just let me do something on my own for once and—_fuck it!_ Now look what you've gone and made me do! Will you pick up the multitool for me, _please_?   
  
The shadow continued to watch the empty hatchway and listen to the argument unfold. Sharp eyes of gold and purple played along the hull of the jet black Corellian ship for a moment, taking in every detail, burning the image of this ship into memory. And then a sound echoed across the hanger to the left; a door had opened. Looking back at the ship once more, the shadow slipped out of the open hanger and disappeared into the inky night.  
  
Just as the shadow disappeared, Kyp Durron entered the hanger. He stopped momentarily in his tracks and glanced at the spot the figure had previously occupied. Furrowing his brow, sure that he had seen movement, the large Jedi made his way to Keilana's ship, a smile blossoming on his lips at the sound of quarrelling.  
  
Shuffling and then the sound of a sharp kick to the hull plating within the ship echoed out. Keilana growled and howled at her ship a bit longer before reverting into the curious language no one dared ask about. And no sound whatsoever came from Ganner, the man Kyp had come to see.  
  
Walking up the hatchway, Kyp leaned into the ship and looked to either side of him. The hall was empty. Knowing the layout of the ship thanks to the _Millennium Falcon_, Kyp stepped inside and followed the voices to a compartment that should have been living space. Instead, there was a gutted out room full of transparisteel cages. Albeit there were only four cages, but the room was full of them all the same. Looking around for a moment, Kyp quickly found the ship's other two occupants. A very pregnant Keilana was standing with her side to the wall and glowering down at a datapad while Ganner sat a meter or so away, his legs crossed and his eyes closed. Clearing his throat, Kyp smiled and stepped closer to them.  
  
Sorry to intrude, he started. Keilana gave him a glare that could kill before beckoning him to come further into the room. And how are you this fine evening, Keilana?  
  
Can the pleasantries, Kyp, Keilana growled, looking up once again from her datapad. Why are you here?  
  
I've come for Ganner, actually, Kyp said, shifting his gaze to the black-haired man. Ganner opened his eyes slowly and looked up at Kyp. Luke sent for him.  
  
  
  
Well you're the only Ganner I know, so I assume he was talking about you. Kyp rose his brow and cocked a smile on his lips. Ganner just rubbed his palms on his trousers and stood up.  
  
Why would Luke want me?  
  
I'm only the messenger, Ganner. You'll have to talk to the big man himself if you want answers. Kyp glanced toward the still glowering Keilana—who had started muttering to herself again—and straightened out his dark tunic. I assume you don't mind, Keilana?  
  
No, I don't mind. All he's good for right now is picking up things I've dropped, Keilana said, a smile spreading across her lips. She tossed the datapad to Ganner, who hooked it onto his belt. That and holding things for me. Can't do much of either at the moment. Besides that? No, he's not of great importance to me. Take him if you must.  
  
And how is the child, might I ask? Kyp said, stepping closer to Keilana.  
  
He's doing just fine, thank you, Keilana answered with a smile, glad to be off the subject of her and Ganner's relationship. Tumbles around like a damned circus acrobat in the middle of the night and keeps me up, but I guess I'd better get used to that now, right? Keilana laughed softly to herself and closed an open panel behind her. Pulling a rag out from under Ganner's belt, Keilana started to wipe the grease from her hands. I have nothing left to do here—though I don't think I'd get much done without Ganner around. Mind if I join you?  
  
Not at all, Kyp said. He escorted them down the hatch and out of the ship, Keilana holding onto his elbow. The three of them moved across the abandoned hanger to the door, exiting without a sound. None of them felt the careful eyes that had been trained on their backs as they walked away; none felt the hunger, anger, and hate radiating off the shadow that had reappeared.  
  
A pink tongue ran carefully over indigo lips as the alien watched from her perch. As soon as the three disappeared, she gave a grin full of large, razor sharp teeth, her tail wiping through the air above her head. She would have her revenge, someday, and, _O, what sweet revenge it would be_. _Yes,_ she told herself, _Someday, daughter of Fett, you will taste the bitter irony of your death by my hand.  
  
_The alien's smile grew as she clenched one fist before disappearing into the night once again.  
  
  
  
  
Luke Skywalker looked up as his door slid open. Smiling and standing, he greeted Ganner as he stepped into the small office. His gaze then fell on Keilana who was standing just outside in the hallway. Putting out his hand to stop the door from closing, Luke stepped out to greet her as well.  
  
You are absolutely glowing this evening, Keilana, he said, smiling widely. The pregnancy has done wonders for you.  
  
Keilana said, shifting her weight. I'm surprised. Beyond losing my waistline, I haven't found any benefits thus far. I can't sleep, my feet constantly ache, and I eat like a half-starved wampa led into a Rebel base. Luke flinched at the mention of the creature causing Keilana to smile. Not to mention that my hormones are completely out of whack.  
  
Ah, the joys of motherhood.  
  
So you've impregnated that many women, eh, Skywalker? Keilana smiled wider and cocked one brow.  
  
More than I can count, he countered before waving one hand. No, after watching my sister with her children I've learned what to expect if I am ever to have any of my own.  
  
You haven't been there first hand, though, Ganner said from behind. He lowered his chin to meet his Master's gaze, his bright eyes twinkling. Do you know how hard it is to find iced melon and two duck steaks at three in the morning? Or perhaps how it feels when every eatery in the vicinity is suddenly out of smoked nerf ribs, chocolate pie, and cinna tea at the exact same moment?  
  
But I thought you two—  
  
It doesn't stop her from calling me up in the middle of the night asking for favors. Personally, I would like to keep certain parts of my anatomy, so I humor her. Ganner sighed and ran a hand through his hair. I don't think I've ever looked forward to something being over quite as much as I do this.  
  
Keilana chuckled. It's only the beginning, poster boy. Ganner gave an exaggerated groan and Luke smiled, meeting Kyp's gaze, laughter in their eyes. After a moment, Keilana rested one hand on her stomach and turned to look at Ganner. Well, don't you two boys have a meeting to get too?  
  
Luke cleared his throat. Yes, yes we do. If you would be so kind as to wait out here, both of you?  
  
Kyp and Keilana nodded. After thanking them, Luke turned back to his office, Ganner close behind. The door slid shut leaving only Kyp and Keilana in the hall. There was a moment of silence before Kyp leaned against the wall.  
  
So I take it Ganner is looking forward to the birth?  
  
He's not the only one, Keilana said, looking around for a place to sit. Her eyes quickly fell on a bench which she promptly moved toward. With a great sigh, Keilana sat down and closed her eyes. I _almost_ look forward to two a.m. feedings and no sleep.  
  
But the key word is almost,' correct? When Keilana nodded, Kyp chuckled softly and crossed the floor to sit next to her. Ganner's a lucky guy, he really is.  
  
He's not the father, you know that.  
  
That's not what I mean, Keilana and _you_ know that. He's found one of the greatest things someone in this galaxy can find, which is second only to that perfect buzz you get when you've drunken _just _too much. Keilana opened one eye to regard Kyp. The dark orb of her iris shined with laughter before closing the eye once more.   
  
You certainly aren't talking about love, now are you? Remember, he screwed that whole thing months ago. Keilana dropped silent for a moment before saying, Yes, I suppose there is nothing better than that buzz. It's gonna be a long while before I get _that_ again.  
  
So you've sworn off drinking then?  
  
I'm not completely reckless, Kyp, despite popular belief. I know the harmful effects it could have on my child. I guess I could be compared to some sort of exotic fruit; prickly and uninviting on the outside and so sickeningly sweet on the inside it makes you, well, sick.  
  
Now, I wouldn't go around calling you sweet, but you've got some of that right; you're uninviting and you do have a certain degree of exoticness about you. This time, both of Keilana's eyes flew open and she spun gracelessly to meet Kyp's gaze.  
  
Excuse me?  
  
Whoa, don't get all defensive, sweetheart, he said, giving Keilana a mocking grin. I just don't generally associate bounty hunters with being sweet, retired or not, that's all. Besides, you're a gorgeous girl, Keilana, and many people would call your looks exotic.  
  
Exotic? Well, I guess if a walking, talking balloon filled to the point of bursting can be called exotic, than that's me. Keilana laughed lightly. Kyp chuckled as well before raising his brow.  
  
You know, Kyp started, scratching his cheek, some men find pregnancy a turn on.  
  
Eugh, don't tell me you're one of those men, Kyp.  
  
And if I did?  
  
Then as soon as I could stand up I would run—er—walk as quickly as I could away from you and hole up in my room until the birth. Don't need any wandering eyes coming my way for a little while. Keilana said this with a hint of sadness as she absently patted her stomach. Kyp opened his mouth to ask about the child's father, but changed his mind quickly. Perhaps it was better for that to remain Keilana's closely guarded secret.  
  
he said instead. When is the baby due?  
  
Any day now, Keilana said, the sadness gone. Any day now.  
  
Ah. So any day now we will not only have your complaining to listen to but the complaints of a newborn babe racking our brains and stealing our sanity?  
  
Well, I don't know about your sanity, but I sure as hell have the feeling that I'll be willing to go back to my job as assassin-for-hire when this is all over.  
  
You're not serious, are you?  
  
I really don't know, Kyp. I was raised as a bounty hunter and, up until about seven months ago, bounty hunting was all I'd known. It's just as much a part of me as this life is a part of you. Like they say, you can take the girl out of hunting, but not the hunting out of the girl.  
  
Who says that? Kyp furrowed his brow. He did not like the way this conversation was turning.  
  
It doesn't matter, Keilana said with a wave of her hand. The point is that, sick and twisted as this might sound, I still have urges to go on the hunt again. At times I wake up in the middle of the night and reach under my pillow for a blaster that's not there. Keilana sighed and glanced at the floor. I even keep track of bounties that come up on the Net every once and awhile. I can't seem to shake my former life.  
  
You're right, that does sound sick, Kyp said, turning his concerned gaze to the opposite wall. How could you have ever enjoyed a life like that?  
  
Like I said, that's how I grew up. I didn't know any other way of life. After awhile, it almost became an obsession. Life didn't feel right if I didn't have a job or if I was stationary too long. For Gods' sake, my father would send me people hunting for target practice when I annoyed him. Mind you, I wasn't shooting to kill, but that's the life I lived until I ran away.  
  
How old were you when you ran away? Kyp made a face which Keilana didn't catch. He detested these sort of interview-like conversations.  
  
Fifteen. I couldn't take living with my father anymore on that damn blasted antique he called a ship. I rarely touched down on solid ground and I could never escape from his training routine. He'd dial up the artificial gravity to force me to train harder and he'd restrict my diet to only certain types of food, not that we had much food on the ship to begin with, mind you. He'd put all of his money into renovations to keep the ship together and to upgrade his weapons. I'd only get new clothes when I had worn out my current set or outgrew them. Keilana sighed and slumped her shoulders. My life was hell when I lived with him.  
  
What kind of a man could do that to their child?  
  
If you knew who my father was you'd choke on that question, Keilana said with a slight chuckle, though the laughter didn't carry to her eyes. But don't even bother asking who he is cause I'm not telling you. There's only one other person who'd I'd ever trust with that information and he knows. She didn't bother mentioning that it was that same bit of information that had torn them apart as well.  
  
I thought you said an entire crime organization knows who your father is? Kyp said, glancing at Keilana.  
  
Unfortunately. I still haven't figured out how they know who he is but I have a feeling it has something to do with that mad crimelord who's after me. Keilana bowed her head and shook it in frustration. I'm only twenty-two years old and I have an entire crime organization after me, not to mention the outrageous bounty that's slowly turning into a death mark. Gods, I'll end up dying like my mother. _Only she didn't die quite as soon as you thought, now did she?  
  
_And how was that, since you brought it up?  
  
Keilana turned her gaze on Kyp and bared her teeth momentarily. She had brought this on herself, she knew that, but it didn't mean she had to be happy about it. She was a young bounty hunter and had managed to get a death mark on her head. As far as I know, she hid in the lower levels of Coruscant until she had given birth to me in a place I can only speculate about. Then, when I was nearly a year old, she had been rooted out and was on the run. It was only luck, as far as I can see it, that she ran into my father, otherwise I'd probably have been abandoned in a garbage heap. Anyway, after she had abandoned me, my father never saw her again, she lied.I don't know much about her beyond that. I don't even look like her, or so my father says. I favored his looks, the dark hair and eyes. My face is a feminine reconstruction of his as is my short temper and degree of recklessness. The only thing he told me I inherited from my mother was her pale skin and build, along with complete and udder stubbornness.  
  
Kyp let out a low whistle as he studied the far wall. Looking back at the woman at his side, he frowned as he watched the progress of a single tear over her cheek. Putting an arm around her shoulders, Kyp pulled her close. I'm sorry, he said. I'm sorry for asking you to delve into your past like that.  
  
No, Kyp, it's okay. Keilana wiped her cheek with the back of her hand and attempted a smile. Sometimes a girl just needs to complain and bitch about her past. There is rarely a person who will listen, not to mention the fact that it is never a guy. You had a rough childhood too, didn't you, Kyp?_  
  
_Yes, but unlike you, I don't need to bitch on about it. I've done enough of that in my lifetime. Besides, I'm a big boy now, he said with a smile. I can deal with my problems like a man.  
  
Just don't get too macho with your feelings—but, oh dear, I guess it's a little late for that. Keilana chuckled softly to herself before resting her head on Kyp's shoulder. Sighing, she closed her eyes and allowed a soft smile to play across her face. Kyp looked down at her face, studying it for a moment.  
  
You know, if Ganner caught us out here like this, he'd kill me. He still loves you, you know.  
  
Keilana, choosing to ignore Kyp's added comment, sighed and leaned heavier against him. And as long as he looked good doing it, he'd be delighted with himself.  
  
Gee, thanks for the support.  
  
You're welcome, Keilana said in a singsong voice. She laughed lightly before squeezing Kyp's hand with her own. But you're the same way, so I wouldn't go around complaining for too long.  
  
Kyp simply shrugged as he took Keilana's hand in his own. Much to his surprise, she didn't pull away.  
  
  
  
  
Have you heard the latest news from the   
  
The man sitting across from the first looked up, his drink halfway to his mouth. You have access to that? I heard only certain people can get into it.  
  
A common misconception, I assure you. Anyway, have you heard about the latest big one?  
  
Enlighten me.  
  
Word is that the record price placed on a bounty hunter's head has been broken. It's a whopper, I tell you, an absolutely ridiculous amount of money.  
  
How much?  
  
Three-point-five million.  
  
That's pocket change these days as far as the big bounties go. The second man took a long swig of his drink, finishing it. Wiping a hand across his mouth, he glared at the man before him. There have been people raking in amounts up in the seven and eight-million-credit range these days. What's so important about this one?  
  
For starters, it's on one of the _precious_ big time bounty hunters. The first man smirked as if the idea were humorous. You know, the upper-class, the private commissioners, the special' ones?  
  
They must have ticked someone off real bad to deserve a price like that. Who is it.  
  
You'll never guess.  
  
Then tell me.  
  
You know about Keilana, right?  
  
'Course I do. She rose out of nothing to become one of the privileged few _elites.  
  
_ first man laughed. Good word.  
  
Word is she even knows Fett, but what's she got to do with this? Is it a private job or something?  
  
No! It's her. _She's_ the one with the price. Smart girl has holed up somewhere too, cause no one can find her.  
  
Got any information on her whereabouts?  
  
The first man shook his head. Since the Skywalker job she's been nowhere, out of sight, no one's seen her...  
  
And the conversation continued as thus. From across the crowded, smokey bar, there was another man listening to the two men talk as well. His head was cocked in an unnoticeable fashion as he took in every word the two men were saying. It was times like this when the genetic manipulation he'd undergone seemed worth it.  
  
As he listened, the insistent drumming of fingers on the table top pounded into his brain. So far, he'd been able to ignore it. However, as the pattern grew louder and more insistent, he could no longer stand it. Reaching out, he grabbed the fingers in his hand and squeezed down until their owner squealed in pain.  
  
Then stop doing it, he growled low under his breath. Shifting his eyes to the rusty-haired woman in front of him, he almost smiled at the look of sheer terror on her face before releasing her.  
  
Why are we here? She asked in a shaky voice after a moment.  
  
I'm gathering information.  
  
  
  
Fett turned to glare at Jikala. Because I am.  
  
Oh, well, that's a good reason, Jikala said, her gaze falling to the table top.  
  
Fett growled. This reminded him too much of Keilana's early childhood before she had learned the value of silence. It hadn't taken his own child long to figure out not to ask questions, but this girl, well, she was not quite as sharp.  
  
Just be quiet, all right?  
  
Jikala nodded as she pulled her hood further down over her eyes. Nodding in satisfaction, Fett turned his ear back toward the two bounty hunters. However, their conversation had turned from Keilana to the best kind of draught they could buy with the money they had. Sighing in frustration, Fett grabbed Jikala by the wrist and stood up, pulling her with him. After throwing a couple of coins to the barkeeper, he dragged the young woman out of the bar behind him.  
  
So I gather you got what you needed? Jikala ventured to ask. However, as soon as she met Fett's glare, she turned her gaze to the ground and shut up.  
  
We've got a couple more errands to run. Fett said shortly as they made their way to a parked speeder.  
  
Jikala started to protest, that's not ours.  
  
It is now, Fett growled as he straddled the bike. Opening up a central compartment, Fett managed to hot-wire the craft in a matter of seconds. Growling for Jikala to get on behind him, he closed the small door and leaned forward to take the controls. As soon as the girl had mounted and placed her hands tentatively on Fett's waist, he took off with a roar of the engine. Within moments, Jikala had adjusted her grip to a strangle hold about his waist as they moved through traffic on the one-man bike.  
  
After only a few minutes, during which Jikala's eyes were tightly closed, Fett brought the bike down in front of an empty store. Prying Jikala off from around him, he jumped down and moved toward the little shop. Jikala followed tensively behind, wringing her hands together.  
  
The owner of the store looked up from behind the counter and put down what he was working on as Fett and Jikala entered.  
  
Don't think I've seen you around these parts, stranger, he said, furrowing his brow at the two. What can I get for you?  
  
Fett studied the man for a moment before glancing around the shop. I need some weapons.  
  
Well you've come to the right place, the owner said, furrowing his brow further. What are you looking for?  
  
Fett said, sliding a piece of flimsy forward. The store owner picked it up, his brow rising suddenly in surprise.   
  
Are you sure you want this model, sir? There are plenty of newer, far more dependable models on the market these days. In fact, I'm not sure if I even have one of these antiques in stock.  
  
Then I will just have to bring my money elsewhere, Fett growled. He put his hand out for the paper, but the man seemed to be considering it.   
  
Now that you mention it, the owner said, I think I just might have one of these in the back room. Let me just go look for you.  
  
Fett said, dropping his hand. He watched the other man carefully as he seemed to make some adjustments to a screen before disappearing from the store front. Fett smiled, the cloth covering his face—with the exception of his eyes—crinkling with the expression. At least the man was smart enough to keep his store under tight watch. Turning to Jikala, Fett shook his head before moving about the store looking at different objects here and there. He had selected a few of the other parts he was looking for before the store owner came back. He was carrying a large blaster rifle and looked to be having a bit of trouble with it. This amused Fett to no end.  
  
Well, it looks as if I did have one in the back room. This one came in awhile back with a few thugs claiming it to be Boba Fett's own. Now, I don't know how much truth there is to that, because I certainly can't find any special markings that would make it so, but they certainly were asking quite a price for it. However, after inspecting it a bit more, and hearing that Fett had been killed—which I still don't rightly believe—I figured there might be some truth to their story. You know, stranger, this Fett seems to be invincible, always bouncing back from being killed, ya know?  
  
Fett simply looked at the blaster, itching to have it back in his hands, for it was indeed his. It had taken a lot of work to find out where certain parts of his armour had been sold off to. He was only lucky enough to find that this particular item, unlike the rest of his stuff, had not yet been sold off of Nar Shadda. Growling, Fett tore his gaze away from the weapon. And is there a point to your little story?  
  
That this item is very, very expensive.  
  
How expensive?  
  
One-hundred-thousand credits.  
  
Make it seventy and you've got a deal. Fett's gaze had shifted back to the weapon and the store owner seemed to pick up that he wanted it real bad.  
  
You must desperately want this blaster, sir. I'll cut you a deal: ninety-five.  
  
Fett said stubbornly. He should not have to pay for this blaster! It was rightfully his! However, he knew he would not get it from the owner unless, of course Fett's hand started to grope for the small blaster at his hip, his fingers only millimetres away, before he forced it to stay.   
  
Ninety and no less.  
  
Look, unless you want your body full of blaster holes, I suggest you work with me here.  
  
Threats won't get you anywhere, sir, the shop owner drawled. However, Fett could see that his eyes were glancing warily at the blaster.  
  
They sure have worked in the past, Fett growled as he drew his weapon. Aiming it at the store owner, he beckoned for the gun. After a moment's hesitation, the owner handed it over to Jikala, along with Fett's other items. The bounty hunter threw some credits on the counter and, nodding to the shop owner, he allowed the man to count the money.  
  
This is only fifteen.  
  
Like I said, you'll have to work with me if you want to stay alive. Fett started to back out of the store. Besides, fifteen's all this particular model is worth, and that is including the other items as well.  
  
I'll call the authorities on you! The owner threatened as Fett backed out of the store.  
  
And you think they'll actually give a shit? Fett said just before stepping over the threshold. He instructed Jikala to get on the bike before he himself mounted up.   
  
Where will I put the blaster? She whispered, daring to lean close to him.  
  
Hold it in one hand, girl, he growled as he started the engine up again. Jikala swallowed audibly before putting one arm around Fett to keep her balance, the other wrapped tightly around the blaster. She feared more for her life if the blaster were lost rather than she did falling off the bike. Even Fett seemed to sense this for he did not make any sudden moves the entire way back to Jikala's little hut. However, that could have been because he cared only for the blaster.  
  
As soon as Fett entered the small house, he made for his room, stopping only to answer Caitern's question about how the trip went. She had learned quickly not to ask too many questions but one every once in awhile did not bother the bounty hunter. In fact, it made the whole living situation as pleasant as it could be, which was not very.  
  
Closing the door behind him, Fett made his way across the room and opened up the tiny chest he had dug out of the trash somewhere. Inside, and away from the knowledge of the family, was his completely rebuilt armour. It had taken long months of scavenging and dealing, but he was almost ready to leave. Placing the blaster almost lovingly among the other items, Fett closed the chest and sat down on top of it. There was only one obstacle left and that was to find out whether or not his precious ship was still on the moon. So far, all his search had turned up were dead ends. Perhaps, he would have to contact Keilana about it, he finally decided, seeing as she was the only other person who could safely approach the ship. Yes, he nodded, as soon as he could find a long distance holocomm, he would contact his daughter about the ship. A grin spread across his face as he removed the cloth. His daughter was in for the surprise of her life.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. The Legacy of Fett

  
  
  
The Legacy of Fett  
  
  
  
The name echoed through the halls of the underground lair before reaching the man's ears. He instantly dropped what he was doing to sprint through the halls, entering the throne room and falling instantly to one knee, his head bowed.  
  
he said softly. Pushing a piece of greasy brown hair from his eyes, he watched the slow progress of an insect across the floor, not daring to look at his master.  
  
Look at me, man! Do not flinch away like a frightened child! The crimelord's sharp voice reverberated through the room, rising to the tall ceiling, and filling the surrounding passageways. The crimelord was not in a good mood.  
  
Pietr obliged without a word and rose his head to look into the crimelord's almost unnaturally pale eyes, narrowing his own as a response. A smile spread across his master's lips at the sight.  
  
So you do fear me—good, good. That is how it should be, just so long as you don't lose your respect.  
  
Of course, Great One. I would never lose respect for one such as you, for my life does balance in your hands.  
  
As does your payroll. You are a clever man, Pietr.  
  
Thank you. Pietr lowered his eyes in respect before looking back at the crimelord. You called for me?  
  
I did, the crimelord nodded. Leaning forward, the crimelord stared at the man in front of the throne with those green eyes. You may tell your men that they can proceed with the plans as the weather allows.  
  
You're sure, Crimelord?  
  
Of course I'm sure! The crimelord's voice rose in pitch causing Pietr to cringe away. Do you question my judgement?  
  
No, no, of course not. I will inform the men right away.  
  
Good. You are dismissed.  
  
Thank you, Crimelord. Pietr bowed before turning on his heel to exit the chamber. He clenched his gloved fist in front of him and turned in time to see the crimelord turn on a life-size holo of Keilana. A feral smile spread across his master's lips, causing Pietr to smile as well. Soon I will bring her to you, Great One, he muttered to himself, admiring the holo before him. Soon , she will be yours—again.  
  
  
  
  
_Keilana looked up and furrowed her brow. Had someone called out to her? She walked out of the Temple and down the empty streets of Coruscant, looking for the disembodied voice. After a little while, she put on hand on her stomach, surprised to find it flat once again. Surprised, however was an understatement, Keilana was panicking. She tried to yell out, but her voice had been muted. Trying again, Keilana started to cry as she fell to her knees.  
  
Where was her baby?  
  
Just then, she heard the voice again. It was oddly familiar, yet she couldn't quite place it. Looking up, her face tear-streaked and puffy, she looked around her. There was nothing, nobody. The streets were perfectly still except for her. Once again, the voice called to her.  
  
Dad?  
  
Standing, Keilana started to wander down a side street. She picked her way carefully through the rubble, looking for whomever was calling to her.   
  
As she turned a corner, a terrible pain ripped through her, causing her to double over—only she couldn't. Somehow, even without the presence of the child, she couldn't move in any other way. Cringing as another wave of pain crashed over her, Keilana gripped her stomach and started to move forward once again. The voice was so close, so very close.   
  
Another corner, another wave of pain.   
  
Just as she was about to give up, a shadow stepped out from behind a trash bin, offering its hand to her. Looking up, she almost recognized the shape of the helmet and the slope of the shoulders, but she couldn't place it. Reaching out, she tried to grab the offered hand, but it was too far away; it seemed so close. Keilana tried again, only to stumble forward as her hand met with thin air. Grimacing again as her whole body shook with pain, Keilana closed her eyes and bowed her head. She couldn't live through this.   
  
And then the voice called out again, though this time obviously female. Looking up, Keilana realized that another figure had joined them, this one slender, shorter than the first. Though it was shadowed as well, it's face blurred, Keilana could have sworn she was looking at a reflection of herself, the body shape so incredibly similar to hers. Somehow, somewhere, she had seen this woman before, this woman with only one arm.  
  
The woman rested her hand on the first figure's shoulder, leaning against it, using it to support her weight. And then she laughed, a laugh so high and cruel Keilana cringed, the sound torture to her ears.  
  
she managed to gasp as another tidal wave of pain tore through her. Falling to her knees Keilana started to cry again, her tears splashing onto the ground, wiping the image away  
  
_   
  
  
Keilana blinked, unsure of exactly what had happened, sure that it was all a dream. However, moments later, she realized that the pain was very real. Clutching her stomach, relieved to see that she was indeed still pregnant, Keilana grimaced, the real pain far more painful than her dreamthe dream  
  
The baby!  
  
Keilana sat up and managed to swing her legs over the side of the bed before another contraction ripped through her. They were so close together, she realized, almost too close together for her to have the time she needed. Standing up, Keilana groped around in the dark room to find the comlink she had left on her bedside table.   
  
she gasped into the comlink. There was no response. Fuck it, Ganner, wake up!  
  
Came the sleepy response on the other end.  
  
Wake up, she growled, walking across the room, leaning against the wall as another contraction came and went. Her water had already broken, probably when she was still asleep. And the pain, the pain was like nothing she had ever experienced before.  
  
I'm awake, he assured her with a great yawn. What's going on?  
  
The baby , it's she groaned.  
  
That woke Ganner up. She could hear him scamper across his room to the door. I'll be down there in a moment, Keilana. Just try to keep him in until I get there, yeah?  
  
Shut up, Ganner.  
  
Hey, at least you relocated to the floor the medcenter is on, Ganner went on. Not too long of a walk.  
  
With the Gods as my witnesses, Ganner, I'm going to rip off some precious anatomy when you get down here. Keilana, who figured she better get a little ready, grabbed a jacket and moved out into the hall, waiting for Ganner to arrive. This was something they had talked about awhile back and Ganner had agreed to help her when the time came. In fact, he seemed very enthusiastic about it. Keilana had thought through that often and still couldn't figure out why. She knew he didn't approve of the baby's father, or her father for that matter, or how the child had been conceived, yet he still insisted on helping her. Was she missing something there?  
  
Just as she stepped into the hallway, someone came around the corner. Keilana fully expected it to be Ganner and was surprised to see that, instead, the looming form of Kyp Durron had entered the hallway. They stared at each other for a moment, unable to comprehend why the other was there, before Kyp rushed forward.  
  
Is everything all right?  
  
Does it look all right to you? Keilana straightened up to the best of her ability and looked Kyp in the eye. Since you're here, you can help me to the infirmary. Ganner? She said into the comlink.  
  
  
  
Go ahead to medcenter and I'll meet you there.  
  
  
  
Kyp just showed up. Get one of the Healers, though with the disturbances I've sent through the Force, I'm sure they're all awake already. The whole bloody Temple is probably awake. Keilana tried to laugh, but it came out as a groan as a fresh wave of pain ripped through her. Kyp's strong grip instantly stabalized her as she closed her eyes.  
  
You're in no condition to get there on your own, Keilana, he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Keilana started to protest, but another contraction had gripped her and she felt her knees go weak.  
  
And how, exactly dodo you propose to get me there? She said weakly.  
  
Like this. Kyp leaned over and picked her up, one hand under her knees and the other behind her shoulders. Keilana gasped before throwing her arms around Kyp's neck, trying to help him. The big Jedi winced slightly at her weight, but started gallantly forward.  
  
You expect to be able to carry me all the way there?  
  
It's better than the baby being born in the middle of the hallway, he said, wincing again as Keilana experienced another contraction, her nails digging into his back. Besides, even with the baby, you're still as light as a feather.  
  
Cut down on the wisecracks, Kyp, she gasped out. Gods, I never thought it would be this painful.  
  
It will be over soon enough, he said, his stride a bit more sure now.  
  
Easy for you to say, she laughed lightly, resting her forehead against Kyp's neck.  
  
Why do you say that?  
  
You, all of you, your part in this process is e—easy. A literal flash in the pants and, nine months later, you've got a kid that looks sort of like you. Gods, I hope he doesn't look like his father.  
  
Kyp decided to leave that at that. However, he had other questions for her.   
  
  
  
Didn't Luke teach you anything to help get rid of the pain?  
  
Do you really think I can recall any of my training, Kyp? Men  
  
Just humor me and try. Relax your mind and let the Force flow through you.  
  
she growled, biting her lower lip. Fighting the pain, Keilana closed her eyes and reached out. She felt the Force reach out as well, licking her in it's calming aura. Within moments, much of the pain was gone, but that did not completely rid Keilana of the sharp contractions and the pain that accompanied them. Drawing in a deep breath of air, Keilana heard Kyp tell her they were almost there. One more corner and a short passageway. Keilana breathed her thanks.  
  
Moments later, Keilana heard the soft _whoosh_ of an opening door and dared to open her eyes. So she was back. The last time she had been here with an emergency was when she had been stabbed. Keilana almost laughed. Last time she had been carried in by a large Jedi as well. However, that thought was quickly washed out of her mind as another moan escaped through her teeth. Fluttering her eyes open as Kyp stopped, Keilana watched the fish-head Jedi Healer, Cilghal, and a disgruntled looking Ganner walk into view. The expression on Ganner's face soured further as he watched Keilana grip Kyp in pain.  
  
The Healer beckoned Kyp forward into a separate room and told him to lay Keilana on the bed. She then shooed both male Jedi out as another Healer joined them in the small birthing room.  
  
she said, literally having to use physical force to get Kyp and Ganner out of the room. You've done all you can, now let us do our job.  
  
The closing door drowned out Keilana's gasping scream.  
  
  
  
  
  
They must have paced the same stretch of floor hundreds of time, each acting as if the child being born was their own, their nerves were so on end. Each man loved Keilana in a different way, even if Kyp didn't realize it. For him, it wasn't passion, but more fatherly or brotherly. In the past seven months or so, he had grown close to Keilana, almost taking her on as a full-time pupil of his own. It had come out of watching her, waiting for her to make a wrong move, and quickly learning that she no longer intended to hurt the Jedi. Something in Keilana had changed since being found out, even if she didn't want to admit it. She seemed slightly more docile, though the fire that burned in her heart had grown if anything. She was ready to learn, yes, but fierce, easy to take offence or to throw blame. That much hadn't changed and the Jedi didn't see any change in Keilana's future. Some hoped that she would settle down a bit more now that she was going to be a mother, but deep in their hearts, they doubted it. This was simply a new challenge to Keilana, a new way to prove that she could indeed learn new things. Perhaps it was a horrible thing to say, but the Jedi knew it to be true, even if it wasn't repeated out loud.  
  
And so, they paced, eventually joined by Luke Skywalker who sat calmly in a chair, his legs crossed and his eyes on the other two.  
  
Calm down, he said after awhile. Keilana is going to be just fine.  
  
This statement was accompanied by a particularly loud scream from Keilana, causing the three men to wince.  
  
That doesn't sound fine to me, Master, Ganner said, pausing for a moment.  
  
It's perfectly natural.  
  
Aren't there drugs to calm the pain?  
  
Yes, but does Keilana seem like that kind of a person? Luke said with a slight smile. Remember, she has a will of steel and a great capacity for pain.  
  
Ganner nodded and set his lips in a line. He obviously didn't agree with Luke, though the facts were undeniable.  
  
After much more pacing and a time period that felt like an eternity, Keilana gave one more painful, gasping scream, the sharp cry of a newborn babe cutting through her vocalisation. Ganner and Kyp both froze in place, three sets of eyes turning to the door, waiting for it to open. After another lifetime, or so it seemed, the door did indeed slide open, an exhausted looking Cilghal stepping through. Ganner and Kyp tried to lean around her to get a glance into the room, but to no avail. The door slid shut as soon as the Jedi Healer stepped through.  
  
Luke, who was the only one to look at Cilghal, nodded, waiting for the news. She set a grin on her face, her wide lips coming apart.  
  
Mother and child are doing wonderful, Master, she said, one eye trained on Luke while the other watched Kyp and Ganner. She was wondering if she could speak with you, Luke, privately. I told her you could, if you so wish, but please make the visit short. The birth was long and tiring.  
  
Of course, Luke said with a nod, unfolding his legs and standing up. He nodded to the other three Jedi before disappearing into the room. Ganner instantly turned to Cilghal, his brow furrowed in anger.  
  
Did she say anything about wanting to see me?  
  
The female Jedi cocked her head. What do you think, Ganner?  
  
Ganner pursed his lips and fumed, not bothering to shield his emotions. The child in the other room started to cry a moment later and Cilghal shook her head and placed a hand on Ganner's shoulder.  
  
A child that young is very sensitive, Ganner, she said softly.  
  
He's sensitive?  
  
Almost as strong as his mother, she confirmed. We will all have to watch our raw emotions while he is still so young for he is not used to the rest of us. His mother will bother him more and I already feel for the child, but Keilana will learn to deal with it. She sighed softly before letting out a light chuckle. As for the rest of us, well, if we want to keep our sanity, than we all better be careful not to upset her.  
  
  
  
  
Long after Luke had left, hours and hours after the birth of her son, Keilana looked down at the tiny child in her arms, smiling softly as he slept. He was everything she could have hoped for and more. There was not a strand of red in his hair nor a speck of blue in his eyes. He looked like her, her father—he had inherited the Fett legacy.  
  
_Odd_, she thought as she ran a finger over his olive-toned cheek. _He looks far more like my father than he does either of his parents._  
  
she muttered, settling back into her pillows. Jaxon Fett. That's quite a name to live up too, little guy. There's a whole legacy in that surname, though simple as it seems.  
  
She then frowned, a hint of sadness touching her eyes. Would her son become what she was, what her entire family was? Would he be the hunter his name suggested he should be? Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by a knock at the door. Looking up, she called for her visitor to come in, surprised to see Kyp step into the room. She definitely didn't expect to see him.  
  
she smiled, over her initial shock. What brings you here?  
  
Just come for a visit, if you're in the mood, that is.  
  
Oh, I don't mind. In fact, I was just thinking that it was getting a little lonely around here with no one to talk to who could properly respond. She flashed him a smile before looking down at the child.  
  
How's he doing there? Kyp asked, stepping closer and lowering himself into a bedside chair.  
  
Perfectly fine, she smiled, not looking up. He's just beautiful, isn't he?  
  
He certainly is a handsome child, Kyp agreed. Have you named him yet?  
  
Keilana said immediately, her eyes falling on Kyp.  
  
That's a good, strong name, the Jedi said, smiling and leaning closer. He put one hand on the bed for stability as he gazed down at the child. After a moment of silence, Keilana brushed a stray strand of hair out of Kyp's face, surprising him.  
  
Would you like to hold him? She asked gently.  
  
Are you sure? He looked up, his brow furrowed.  
  
she said with a nod. Here, scoot the chair closer and I'll show you how. Shifting her position, Keilana turned slightly as Kyp moved the chair closer. Hold out your arms like this, yes, perfect. Carefully, Keilana lowered the sleeping child into Kyp's arms, trying not to disturb him. The baby protested gently before falling back to sleep, rolling slightly in toward Kyp's chest. Kyp looked down at Jaxon, a look of wonder set on his handsome features. Keilana smiled as she watched him just hold the child, realizing quickly that her arms felt oddly empty without Jaxon in them. After only a moment, Keilana itched to hold the child again and, sensing this, Kyp handed Jaxon back over to his mother.  
  
It's going to be quite impossible to separate you two, I see, he grinned, leaning back in his chair. Keilana nodded.  
  
Thinking back, I can't see how I could have lived without him. Every part of my being yearns to just hold him and protect him. I can't imagine life now without him. She then sighed sadly, her gaze once again falling on the boy. He'll be the one person who can love me for me, seeing beyond all of my faults. He'll be able to accept my parentage and his family as they are.  
  
Kyp's smile faded as, yet again, he chose not to comment on what Keilana had said. Sadly, he realized, that had been happening a lot lately. Kyp turned to the child once again as he started to whimper, his bout of sleep over. Acting instantly, Keilana adjusted what clothing she wore and lifted the child to her breast. Kyp turned away, locking his gaze on the opposite wall. However, a moment later, he turned back to Keilana as she giggled.  
  
A big, bad Jedi Master embarrassed at the sight of a suckling baby, how amusing. Come now, Kyp, you can't tell me you've lived your entire life without setting your eyes on the female breast.  
  
That's different, he said, shifting his gaze to the floor. Keilana continued to laugh at him. I should probably get going. I've got some students to tend to and  
  
Keilana said, interrupting him. He looked up, meeting her dark gaze. Thank youfor visiting me, that is.  
  
No problem, Key, he said, standing up. Leaning over to brush a soft, almost fatherly kiss on her forehead, Kyp was quite surprised when she grabbed the back of his head, pressing her lips to his. The contact, however, did not last long. Within a moment, Kyp pulled back and stepped away, shaking his head. he said almost breathlessly. No, Keilana, we can't do this.  
  
She looked hurt as she moved to cover herself, suddenly very self-conscious.  
  
It's justit's not rightwe—we just can't. Kyp furrowed his brow against the desire swelling within him before turning and exiting the room with a billow of his robes. It was wrong, he couldn't, he just couldn't. Her heart belonged to someone else, even if she didn't want to admit it. He couldn't toy with her emotions.  
  
But, on top of it all, he couldn't allow himself to fall in love with her.  
  
Watching from the bed, Keilana frowned as the door slid shut. After a moment, she shifted Jaxon to her other breast, attempting to push the kiss out of her mind. However, try as she might, she ended up mulling over it in the end. Somehow, it just hadn't felt right, just like nothing had felt right between the time she had left Ganner and the moment she had held her son for the first time. And, though she didn't want to admit it, thinking about Ganner stung, seeing him even worse. Though she had tried to cope through it, being friendly and jovial with him after a time, there was still that yearning to hold him close, to feel his lips touch hers.  
  
Keilana sighed as Jaxon fell back asleep after being burped, his stomach full, his mind content. Somehow, watching the child made her need for Ganner greater, and that kiss had only been to try and prove herself wrong, to make her believe that she didn't need the black-haired Jedi. But the kiss had had the opposite effect, much to her dismay. It made the yearning more powerful, the need for him deeper than it ever had been in the past.  
  
As if he knew she was thinking about him, Ganner was the next one to step through Keilana's door. He hadn't knocked, nor had he announced his presence in any way other than simply walking in. Keilana tried to put a sardonic tilt to her lips, but it was a weak impression, if that.  
  
she said, her voice betraying her. How good of you to come, though, do you normally just walk into a woman's room without announcing yourself.  
  
Only if that woman is you, Keilana, Ganner said, trying to return her smile. It wasn't in his eyes, however, and Keilana could see that quite clearly.  
  
Well, it's good to know that I am special in your eyes, Ganner. But tell me, do you say that to every partner you've bedded, or am I simply special.  
  
Ah, you've caught me red-handed I'm afraid. Ever since you left me I've told that to every woman I've slept with, which brings the grand total up to zero. Ganner moved across the room and sat in the chair Kyp had previously occupied. Slouching down a bit and clasping his hands in front of him, Ganner smiled at Keilana, his gaze falling momentarily on Jaxon.  
  
Yet another pillow lie, Ganner. You seem full of them tonight. Keilana watched Ganner as he watched her son. As the months had gone by, he seemed to have fallen into slight disrepair, if that's what one could call it. His goatee was not quite as neat as she had seen it in the past and his black hair was sweeping the top of his shoulders, if not beyond. He no longer walked around with the confidence she had first noticed in him and Keilana's mind wandered back to Kyp's words.  
  
_He still loves you, you know._  
  
Well, Gods' dammit, she could see that for herself! She just didn't want to acknowledge that he could still love herthat she could still love him. Shaking her head, Keilana sighed softly.  
  
Why are you here, Ganner?  
  
Is it a crime to want to see your son? It seems as if everyone else has.  
  
Skywalker and Kyp have. That's not everyone.  
  
At the mention of Kyp, Ganner's expression soured noticeably, a frown crossing his lips. What was he doing here.  
  
He was here for the same reason that you are. You're not the only person in this place who wants to see Jax! Gods, how can you act so selfish? Keilana furrowed her brow, anger coursing through her. Within a moment, Jax screamed, his cries piercing. Ganner covered his ears as Keilana attempted to soothe her son, both her anger and Jax's protests calming at the same time.  
  
Ganner said after Keilana finally settled the baby. I'd say he's quite sensitive in the Force, just as Cilghal said he was.  
  
Yes, I know, Keilana said, adjusting Jax in her arms. I could feel it as he grew inside of me. You know, he's the one who announced his presence. He, in a way, found me, rather than me finding him. Keilana smiled softly and turned her gaze on the child, who was blinking big, sleepy eyes back up at her.  
  
He's beautiful, Ganner said after a moment. But how couldn't he be?  
  
Do you know who you just called beautiful? Keilana asked. She knew exactly what he was talking about, of course, but certain things he had said in the past still stung. My father. That's who he looks like. He doesn't look like Haun, nor does he have my complexion. He looks like the man everyone fears.  
  
So your father has a face like that? No wonder he hides it behind that mask.  
  
Keilana shot Ganner a gaze full of deadly rays, her brow knit together. Ganner, putting his hands up in defence, apologised quickly.  
  
I know you don't like it, Ganner, Keilana said a moment later, but it's not like I got to choose him. And let me tell you, I would have rather been raised by Tarkin or any of the Imperial Moffs than by my father. At least I might have had a choice of what I wanted to do in my life.  
  
Ganner said, shaking his head. Not quite as much as you'd think. You would have been married off to a well-to-do young Imperial politician and have given him as many babies as you possibly could before dying an early death because of breeding-exhaustion.  
  
Keilana laughed, a smile quirking her lips. I guess I'd rather mother one illegitimate child than twenty Imperials. She shook her head. You caught me, Ganner. No matter how much I rag on and on about how much I hate my father and how much I despise him for bringing me up how he did, I still care for him. He still raised me rather than just dumping me off in some dumpster or brothel. And there is nothing either of us can do about who my father is.  
  
Ganner watched Keilana as she spoke and, as she finished, he reached out and grabbed her free hand in his. She was surprised, her whole body tensing, before being able to relax. Then, almost too quick to comprehend, they came together, their foreheads almost crashing in their need for the other. Keilana had to shift so as to not crush her child between them but it did not stop her. Long months of regretting what she had done, hours of yearning and days of despair culminating here, in this kiss, and flowing away, freeing her mind of so much pain.  
  
Pulling back for a breath, Keilana placed her forehead against Ganner's, long held-back tears leaking down her face. Rubbing a calloused thumb over her cheeks, Ganner smiled softly, his eyes crinkling with the expression.  
  
Don't ever do that to me again, Keilana, he said softly, kissing her cheek. She leaned into him, her eyes sliding shut, a smile playing across her lips.  
  
Don't worry, Ganner.  
  
The two of them just sat there for a few minutes longer, both revelling in their love and new-found peace. Once again, everything seemed right in Keilana's little universe, everything back in balance and at peace. All of the pain and agony over Ganner was gone, washed away as they had come together for the first time in all those painful months.  
  
After a little while of silence, perfect, peaceful silence, Ganner stood up, Keilana protesting softly.  
  
I have things that I have to do, Key, he said, gripping her hand reassuringly in his own. Bending over, he brushed a soft kiss to Jax's forehead before straightening and running the back of his fingers over Keilana's cheek. I'll be back. You just rest. You'll wish you had all the time in the universe to sleep real soon.  
  
You will too, she said softly, looking over his shoulder, her eyes fixed on the opposite wall.  
  
Oh, so I'm invited back to your bed?  
  
Perhaps, poster boy, perhaps. She grinned in his direction, her gaze locking with his. After all, I'll need some escape from the joys of motherhood, even if it is only for a minute or so.  
  
Excuse me? Ganner said after a moment of shock. Keilana's grin widened, becoming toothy and teasing.  
  
You heard what I said. Even if the escape is only for a minute or so  
  
I think I can do better than that, Ganner said before straightening. You know what, I don't even want to talk about this right now.  
  
Keilana called after him as he left. Because you know it's true?  
  
Ganner turned to glare at Keilana before the door slid shut. Chuckling softly to herself, Keilana stroked Jax's shock of dark hair.  
  
Welcome to my life, little one. Kissing him softly, she smiled and closed her eyes. Our life.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
---  
  
Ahha! So the Faerie of Sap attacks again, this time handing out all shapes and varieties of cheese. Yum.  
  
Okay, so I had to say it and had to do it. Honestly, how could I deny and ignore the chemistry that I created between Ganner and Keilana? Eh? Eh? It was so cruel of me to break them up in the first place, but so utterly necessary. Methinks I am a little cruel, especially since I threw Kyp into the mix. Poor boy will be real confused now. Well, that's what school and an itsy, bitsy dorm room does to someone. Heh heh Okay, I'm stopping, I'm stopping. Done. Anyway, thank you for the beautiful and wonderful comments!   
  
Oh, and here is something to chew on. While IMing my dad, we came up with this (it was a spur of the moment kinda thing after a comment he made):  
  
_From the author of At the Crossroads of Destiny and Time comes the latest exploits of our beloved hero_  
  
_Keilana Fett, Bounty hunter: The adventures of a girl, her gun, and her trusty roll of paper towels.  
  
Don't worry, ma'am, I'll clean that mess up for you._  
  
Heh, that could be a fun little parody. Until I write again, adieu.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Daddy Dearest

A/N: Woot! It's finally done! Certainly took long enough, eh? Anyway, this was one of those cases where I wasn't sure what I wanted to happen in the chapter (and school/midterms didn't help either). I know exactly were the story is going (with a detailed summary and all) but that didn't stop this chapter from being a bitch especially since I had to ask my parents about how Jax and Keilana should act as he is only newly born. Blah, perhaps it was wrong for someone who hasn't had any real experience with a newborn to make her character pregnant. Oh well, too late now. God, I'm glad I'm done.   
  
--------  
  
  
Daddy Dearest  
  
  
  
She had only been a mother for a single week but to Keilana, it felt like an eternity had come and gone. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep seeing as Jax seemed to keep her up for hours on end only to let her sleep for one at a time. Ganner had tried to help but in the end it was pointless. There wasn't much a man could do to help a newborn baby besides changing him. That and the fact that he wasn't sleeping in her room. Alas, Keilana felt hopeless.  
  
And tonight was nothing different. As if Jax's internal clock was in line with Coruscant itself, his protests started up again at four in the morning, exactly an hour after Keilana had fallen back to sleep. Waking up, Keilana almost screamed into her pillow before standing and dragging herself across the floor to Jax's crib.  
  
What do you want this time, little man? She practically growled despite the smile on her face. She just couldn't bring herself to be angry with the child. As soon as she gathered the boy into her arms, his crying lessened and his kicking stopped. He rolled instinctively toward Keilana's breast, his lips searching blindly. She quickly adjusted her clothing to allow him to suckle as she moved to sit in the moonlight on her bed. The city outside was still bright, as it was day in and day out, and speeders were flying in a steady stream past her window.  
  
It did not take long for the child to finish his feeding. However, as soon as he was burped, he seemed quite content to stay awake, his large brown eyes attempting to focus on different objects around the room. Though tired as she was, Keilana smiled.   
  
Eventually those two large, dark orbs fell on Keilana and she smiled wider. Jax simply blinked and continued to stare. After a moment, Keilana had to acknowledge the fact that she would probably be up for quite awhile for she had never seen someone look less tired than Jax did at that exact moment. Sighing, she shifted the child slightly in her arms into a more comfortable position and stood up. Rocking him back and forth, Keilana walked to the fresher and filled a cup with water. She picked it up and swirled it around a bit but, thirsty as she was, she did not sip from it. Sighing, Keilana placed the cup on the sink and walked back to the main room, Jax blinking and unconsciously holding on to Keilana's shirt.   
  
After a little while longer of wandering her room, attempting to tire her child, Keilana admitted defeat. He might not want to sleep, but she certainly did. So, laying Jax back in his bed, Keilana turned to her own and was asleep almost instantly, her heart silently crying for ignoring her son.  
  
Sometime later, Keilana was woken up by a number of things. The light of the new day streamed in across her bed, the sun blindingly bright, and Jax was screaming. At the same time, the holocom beeped loudly, causing Jax's protests to rise to a new level.  
  
Swearing rather boldly and with great imagery, Keilana stalked across the floor and picked up her son to soothe him. She just got him to suckle when the holocom's beeping grew louder and more insistent. Keilana could have sworn that her son growled against her breast, though it was quite impossible, as she moved to the station. Her finger itched to answer the hail, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Nobody but the Jedi knew that she had borne a son and if this was a potential employer the sight of a child locked on her breast would kill her chances of a new job.  
  
But you can't hunt, not anymore, Keilana muttered to herself, her eyes on the button. Clenching her fist and pulling it back toward her body, Keilana turned as someone knocked on her door. Pulling one of Jax's blankets from his bed to cover herself, Keilana went to answer the door, surprised to find Luke Skywalker on the other side. His cheeks instantly blushed pink as he looked at her.  
  
I know you've seen it before, Master, Keilana half-growled, half-laughed as she stepped back to allow Luke in.  
  
Perhaps I should come at a different time, Luke suggested, shifting uneasily from foot to foot. Keilana simply smiled, detached her son from her breast and handed the boy to Luke who looked quite stunned.  
  
He doesn't bite, Keilana said as she covered herself with a shrug of her shoulder. Before long, Luke reached out to take the boy gently. After Keilana instructed him on how to burp the child, advising him to cover his shoulder with a blanket, she moved away and to her armoire. Luke turned away from Keilana, commenting on how she should answer her holocom. She growled that she was about to as she pulled on some trousers and a jacket over the clothes that she was wearing.  
  
Striding across the floor to the station, Keilana casually pressed the button to answer it.  
  
Sorry that took so— The words died on her lips as soon as she recognized the cold, dark eyes staring back at her. Nearly collapsing when her legs refused to support her any longer, Keilana leaned forward onto the chair in front of her and furrowed her brow, fighting the tears in her eyes. No, I felt you I felt you die  
  
At those words, Luke turned to see who Keilana was talking to and nearly dropped the child in his arms in his surprise. He didn't recognize the uncovered eyes but he knew without a doubt who the man was.  
  
Boba Fett knit his own brow and stared at his daughter, his eyes flashing with impatience. What the hell are you talking about, Keilana?  
  
Fuck you, she muttered, her eyes turned to the floor at her feet.  
  
Fett's eyes narrowed into two dark slits as he watched his daughter carefully. What did you say? You have to speak up, girl.  
  
_Gods fuck you!_ She screeched, her fingers digging into the back of the chair and her eyes narrowing. I hate you, you bastard, you _God fucking bastard!_  
  
Her outburst sent Jax into a new set of furious crying as Luke took an involuntary step backwards. Fett's eyes widened in surprise, but whether it was from the screeching babe or the hate in Keilana's voice, it was impossible to tell.  
  
he said after a moment of deafening silence, clearly shaken. Keilana had never outright yelled at him like that before. Keilana, calm down. I simply wanted to ask you—  
  
Calm down? Keilana seethed. Jax's screams rose to a near painful state as Keilana's anger rolled off of her in waves. Luke found himself quite afraid of what she might do.  
  
Luke said, stepping forward. Keilana spun to face him, her teeth bared.  
  
Don't say a word, she growled before turning back to her father. What do you want, _Dad_.   
  
For you to calm down, he said, almost paternally. Keilana was quite taken aback, as the expression on her face showed. And for you to shut down that racket in the background. What the hell is going on over there?  
  
Keilana's face flickered into an expression of pure cruelty, one Luke did not like in the least bit, as she allowed a smile to creep across her face.  
  
You're not the only one who gets to shock the hell out of someone this morning, she said as she stepped away from the station. Fett had furrowed his brow under the cloth wrap that covered his face as his eyes followed Keilana as far as they could.  
  
What are you playing at, girl? He growled. Keilana ignored him as she plucked Jax out of Luke's arms.  
  
I don't think this is a very good idea, Key, Luke said under his breath.  
  
This is my family and these are my problems, Skywalker, Keilana growled before stepping away from him. Let me deal with them in my own way.  
  
I just think you'll come to regret it, Luke said with a shake of his head, but it was too late for Keilana had just stepped back with in the range of the holocom.  
  
she said in a sweetened voice that dripped with venom as she shifted Jax in her arms to give her father a better view. Fett's eyes grew wide, nearly wider than humanly possible, as he stared at the child. Dad, I would like for you to meet someone. This is my son, Jaxon, Jaxon Fett.  
  
  
  
Luke was not sure he had even dreamed of the day that Boba Fett would be caught off his guard, but this was it. Not only was the older man surprised beyond words, he was almost visibly shaking.  
  
That's right, Dad, Keilana said with the same sugary-venomous tone. You have a grandson and there is one more person to carry on your family's name.  
  
You're fucking with me, aren't you, Fett said after a few more moments. He then stared to laugh, though the sound was anything but merry, and Keilana continued to smile her cruel smile as Jax continued to protest, his cries starting out soft. Keilana hefted the boy to her shoulder and started bouncing him slightly to calm him down.  
  
Just look at him. One look at Jax and there is no mistake whose legacy he belongs to. There is no trace of that disgusting smuggler in him, only you and me. Only Fett.  
  
Keilana's final statement quieted Fett's joyless laughter as he turned a hard stare at his daughter and the child in her arms.  
  
So, what did you contact me for? Certainly it couldn't be for a friendly chat. Keilana arched one brow as Jax fell asleep against her shoulder. Her anger had subsided and was no longer rolling off of her, but the air in the room still crackled with frighteningly strong emotions.  
  
I believe I got the answer to my question, Fett said, apparently stoic once again. There is no way you could have had time to find my ship with that. His eyes flickered to Jax and Keilana's anger grew.  
  
Must I remind you that that' has a name and that it is yours?  
  
Fett is a common enough name, Keilana, he growled. Keilana prickled with anger enough to wake her son and cause him to cry out loudly.  
  
You're right, she said, her voice amazingly controlled for the amount of anger Luke felt break against the walls she had constructed. I haven't seen that God awful ship. And if Fett is a common enough name than, I'm sorry, you've reached the wrong number. Good-bye.  
  
With that, Keilana turned off the holocom with enough dignity to appear civil. However, as soon as Fett's face flickered out, Keilana shrieked at the station, almost forgetting that she was holding her son, and lashed out at it with her bare foot, knocking the station to the floor. Then, crumbling to the carpet, Jax in her arms, she started to sob uncontrollably. Luke looked at her, quite unsure of what to do, when Kyp Durron showed up. He hadn't even bothered to knock. Stopping rather quickly, he glanced at Luke who shrugged and gestured toward Keilana.  
  
Perhaps you can help her, Kyp, he said, rubbing his temple. I don't know if I have the will power to deal with her at the moment.  
  
Kyp simply nodded and turned to Keilana. He gently pulled Jax from her grip as Luke disappeared into the hall and laid the boy back in his crib. Keilana sobbed louder but let him proceed without a fight. Then, as soon as the child was settled, Kyp kneeled on the floor next to Keilana and touched her shoulder. She instantly threw herself against his body, sobbing into his chest, and soaking his shirt through. Kyp patted her on the shoulder, not quite sure what to do.  
  
Keilana said after a few minutes. She looked up at the kneeling Jedi and wiped a hand across her eyes.  
  
  
  
Kyp, if you had a daughter and she told you that she had given birth to a son and that you were a grandfather, how would you react?  
  
Well, first of all, I'd be surprised if I had a daughter and Oo, that's what happened. Kyp brushed a piece of hair out of Keilana's eyes as she nodded. Leaning up against him, Keilana straightened her legs out in front of her, practically forcing Kyp to sit down, which he did. I take that it didn't go well?  
  
He thought I was joking at first, Keilana said as she stared at the carpet between her knees. Without really thinking about it, she started trailing lazy circles on Kyp's knee with her forefinger. Kyp looked down at the hand and grabbed it.  
  
You can't do that, Keilana, he said, clenching his teeth. Placing Keilana's hand in her lap, he moved to stand up but Keilana grabbed his knee and stopped him from moving.  
  
Just sit with me, Kyp, she said softly, her eyes still on the floor. I don't want to be left alone.  
  
No, Keilana, he said, pushing her hand off of his leg and standing up. Keilana furrowed her brow and scrambled to her feet, blocking Kyp's progress to the door with her body. Sighing, he placed his hands on Keilana's shoulders and held her away from him. Don't do this to me, Keilana. Think about Ganner.  
  
What about him? She asked, her eyes flashing.  
  
He loves you.  
  
Then where is he? You're the one who came here, not him.  
  
Kyp shook his head but did not pull back. I was on my way down here anyway to ask when you wanted to start up your training again when your anger rolled through the Academy like a storm.  
  
Keilana pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. Then why do you insist on being so close to me?  
  
Kyp let go of her shoulders and stepped back a meter. Is that better?  
  
Keilana didn't answer.  
  
Look, I've got to get going. He said, running a hand through his hair. Feel better, okay?  
  
Oh, that's a wonderful way to comfort someone. Keilana closed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight to one leg. Her gaze turned away from Kyp and focused on the wall over his shoulder. I'll see you around then.  
  
Stepping forward, Kyp took Keilana's upper arms in his hands and placed a kiss on her forehead. Keilana's eyes slid shut and she leaned into him, if only slightly. At that exact moment the door opened and an unannounced visitor stepped into the room. With one look at the scene, his eyes widened and an ugly scowl crossed his handsome face.  
  
What the hell is going on here? Ganner growled. With a funny little sound, Keilana jumped back and away from Kyp as he moved away from her.  
  
Nothing but a little friendly comfort, Ganner, Kyp said without skipping a beat as he brushed past the taller man. Keilana nodded furiously as she took a step toward Ganner and put an arm around his waist. Burying her face in his shoulder, she started to sob once again, forgetting Kyp had ever been in her room.  
  
Kyp shook his head and sighed as he stepped out of the room and started down the hall. Keilana, he decided, was definitely a piece of art. Whether he appreciated her in that sense or not, only time would tell.  
  
  
  
Ganner turned to watch Kyp leave before turning back to Keilana. His arms were still at his side, as he was still upset with the woman crying against him. Gripping her shoulders, Ganner pulled Keilana off of him and forced her to look him in the eye.  
  
Decide to have a little tryst with Kyp?  
  
Keilana looked up at him with tear-clouded eyes and shook her head. It's not what it looked like, Ganner.  
  
Those certainly are six overused words. What the hell was he doing here?  
  
He is my Master, or at least he practically is. He came down to see when I wanted to continue my training—  
  
And that involves a little kiss? What kind of training is he putting you through?  
  
You didn't let me finish, she growled as she attempted to pull away from Ganner. He was too strong. Certainly you felt the emotions coming from me earlier.  
  
That's why I'm here, Keilana. What happened?  
  
Keilana pointed at the broken holocom station and whimpered as her father's painful words came back to her. Ganner furrowed his brow and shook his head, telling her that he didn't understand.  
  
He's alive, Ganner.  
  
Who is?  
  
He is.  
  
Yes, I think we've established that he's still alive, but _who_ is he?  
  
Keilana whimpered a bit louder, her lower lip trembling. Her gaze met Ganner's for a moment before falling to the floor. She almost followed when her legs threatened to give out.  
  
My dad, she whispered, tears dripping down her cheeks. Ganner sucked in a quick breathe of air and let go of Keilana. That was all she needed to crumble to the floor, her head in her hands.  
  
Your father Boba Fett is still alive?  
  
Keilana nodded. He can't be killed.  
  
But I thought you didn't you  
  
Feel him die? Keilana said, looking back up at Ganner. He kneeled next to her resting his weight on his knees and toes as he cupped her face. Keilana turned away from him as if to hide her head in shame. I thought I did.  
  
A wave of utmost despair rolled off of Keilana and Jax, feeling his mother's pain, woke up with a cry. Keilana moved to get him but with a squeeze of Ganner's hand, she stayed put. Instead, he stood up in one smooth motion and took two steps to the boy's crib. Picking him up gently and settling him in his arms, Ganner walked back to Keilana and settled down next to her once again. Jax was quiet almost immediately as he was settled into the cradle of Ganner's arms, his eyes sliding close. Smiling, Ganner ran a finger over the baby's cheek which Jax instinctively turned toward, his mouth opening. When Jax didn't find what he was looking for, he started fuss and wriggle about, his cries becoming sharp. Keilana chuckled through her tears and reached for the child.  
  
It's not nice to tease him like that, Ganner, she said, adjusting her clothing as she held Jax against her. He immediately responded with a little grunt of enthusiasm as he started to suckle. Keilana wiped her hand across her eyes to rid them of tears as she looked up at Ganner. He was watching her son intently with a slightest of smiles on his lips. Looking up to meet her gaze, Ganner grinned and planted a kiss on the side of her mouth.  
  
He's beautiful, Key.  
  
Keilana nodded and grasped Ganner's hand in her own. I feel for the galaxy when he's grown though.  
  
  
  
He's a Fett, Ganner. We have one of the most infamous names in the galaxy.  
  
You're father is the one with the name, Ganner pointed out as he placed a hand on Keilana's knee. Keilana shrugged and fell silent. After a moment, however, she looked back up at Ganner and smiled.  
  
A name doesn't have to be known to be who you are, Ganner. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm just like my father, just as he was like his. She sighed and lowered her gaze to her suckling son. If I can help it, Jax won't be like us, he won't be a killer. If I can help it, he will live a better life than the one I was forced into.  
  
You can't be forced into a life you don't want to live, Key, Ganner said as he touched her cheek. She pulled away and focused on a spot over his shoulder.  
  
When you are taught how to wield a gun from the moment you can walk and how to kill people from the instant you can understand, you don't have much choice in what you are going to do with your life. I didn't have a childhood. Every waking moment of my young life was spent in some training routine or another. When I was young my father would disguise his training in a game, but as I grew it became more and more obvious what I was supposed to do and supposed to learn. I didn't have a chance at another life and when I ran away, all I knew how to do was hunt and kill. Keilana sighed and met Ganner's gaze. Since coming here I've learned so much about other people. For the longest time, I thought that love was something that you had to earn, even the love of a parent. My father rarely expressed his love and, when he did, I would shy away because it was uncomfortable. I was never given the chance at a life other than bounty hunting.  
  
Ganner was silent for a few moments. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft. Don't dwell on the past, Key. Think about the future that we are offering and the future you can give your son. You are young yet and you have a chance to live a new life. You can be a keeper of the peace in a whole new light. Granted, the pay is lousy, he grinned, but money isn't everything.  
  
A smile danced across Keilana's lips. Yeah, well, I do have enough to last at least two life times. That's one of the things about bounty hunting that I really enjoyed; if you were good, then the pay was outstanding. And, Ganner, I was damn good.  
  
Going on an ego trip, love? Ganner said with a chuckle. Keilana laughed as well as she detached Jax from her breast and proceeded to burp him.  
  
No, just stating the truth. Anyone who wanted a private commission knew who to ask for and I was on the list. I was one of the elite' as the gutter hunters say.  
  
Gutter hunters?  
  
Bounty hunters who couldn't shoot a Corellian sewer rat from a meter away. They are the low-life and the scum of my profession and the ones who would do anything for a quick buck, even if it meant executing a young child. They have no morals.  
  
  
  
Keilana set her jaw and removed the dirtied blanket from her shoulder as Jax fell asleep in her arms. There is a Code, Ganner, that some of us follow. It's like the Pirate's Code. There isn't anything written down, and the Code can be bent to its extreme without being broken, but still, it exists for some to follow if they so wish.  
  
And you followed the Code?  
  
To a certain degree, Keilana said as she stood up. The conversation was over and Ganner knew it would be foolish to try and pursue it. Instead, he stayed sitting where he was and watched Keilana put her son back in his crib. When she turned around, she did not move toward him nor did she move at all. Her gaze was settled on the floor in front of her, not seeing the carpet or anything else.  
  
What will you do, Key, now that you know your father is still alive?  
  
What can I do, Ganner? Keilana reached back to grip the edge of the crib and whispered, Absolutely nothing.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Eavesdropping and the Cyclops…

  
  
  
  
Eavesdropping and the Cyclops of Bounty's Passed  
  
  
  
  
Compared to the first week or so, the next four months flew by like a whirlwind through a small town. Everything had become a blur of feeding, changing, putting to sleep, and bathing Jax. There was no time for Keilana to indulge in the things she enjoyed and barely time to pay attention to herself for Jax was her world and her everything. His demands came before hers and his needs were her top priority. Others had tried to help out, other female Jedi had offered to take Jax off of her hands for a time so that Keilana could have me-time', but it had been of no use. No matter how much Keilana wanted to give in, she knew she would be more of a wreak away from her child than she was around him—not that she was a wreak, at least not in her eyes.  
  
How long have you been able to pull your hair completely out of your face? Ganner asked suddenly, watching her from his bed. Keilana, who was sitting on a blanket on the floor and playing with her son, turned from Jax, one brow arched. After a moment, she shrugged and turned back to the boy.  
  
I don't know, a month maybe? I haven't been paying much attention to those things lately.  
  
Which is exactly my point. When was the last time you were relaxing by yourself, completely and wholly, without Jax? Ganner glanced back at his lightsaber, which he had been toying with, before setting both it and the multitool down. It's been awhile, hasn't it?  
  
You know I tried that once. I was back at his side within an hour and I would hardly call that hour relaxing.  
  
Dare I ask about the last time you were able to enjoy yourself? Ganner rose his brow as he slid off his bed to join Keilana on the floor.  
  
Don't worry about last night, poster boy, Keilana said as she patted him on the knee. I was only afraid you might wake up Jax.  
  
  
  
Keilana nodded, a smirk playing across her face as she turned away from her lover and back to her child. Jax was laying on his back, his eyes fixed on a toy to his left. He didn't grab for the bright coloured ring and when Keilana picked it up, his dark eyes simply followed it. It was almost as if he had never seen the toy before. However, as soon as Keilana dangled it down in front of him, Jax reached up for it, a smile spreading across his face as he cooed. Keilana's face broke out into a smile as well as Jax grasped the toy and held on to it firmly.   
  
What do you mean by that? Ganner said a moment later, still on the subject of the previous night. Keilana turned to look at him and shook her head.  
  
I always took you as a smart one, Ganner, but I guess I am allowed to be wrong occasionally.  
  
What? Hey, that wasn't very nice.  
  
Nope, I guess it wasn't, she said with a wide grin. Ganner chuckled and shook his head slowly.  
  
I think it's time for you to get out of this room. You haven't left since yesterday afternoon.  
  
And did I have a reason to? Keilana asked, her brow raised. Her grin turned into a sly one as she gathered Jax in her arms and stood up. Holding her son against her shoulder, Keilana followed Ganner out of the room and down the hall.  
  
  
  
  
  
Jacen Solo watched Keilana and Ganner walk into the mess hall, Jax wriggling and drooling in Keilana's arms. They sat off in the corner away from most of the noise. After handing her son to Ganner, Keilana stared at the far wall, her chin resting in her hand. There were dark shadows of exhaustion under her eyes and her hair was sticking out at odd angles from the rough knot she had put it in. Despite her appearance she was grinning widely as her son turned at the sound of her voice, breaking out into a smile as well and grabbing at a strand of hair that fell over her shoulder. Jacen couldn't help but smile at the scene.  
  
someone barked sharply. Shaking his head slightly and starting, Jacen turned to look at his sister who was just sitting down across from him. No doubt her gaze had followed his to Keilana. Jacen you have to stop pining after her.  
  
I am _not_ pining after her, Jaina, he said setting his fork down. There was never anything between us that would cause me to pine after her.  
  
Fine, you have to stop lusting after her. Honestly, I don't understand the attraction men have towards women with babies. First you, and then Kyp, and now I see some of the other male Jedi looking after her as she walks by. I could almost swear that she knows some other kind of sorcery besides that of the Force. Jaina looked down at her food before shoving a piece of it into her mouth. But I don't know if I'm willing to give her that much credit. She then started to chew thoughtfully before gesturing at Jacen with her fork. You do know about the baby's father, don't you?  
  
The child has a name, Jaina, and you don't have to go gossiping about Jax's lineage or Keilana's private life to me.  
  
Oh, so they're suddenly Jax and Keilana, are they?  
  
You do realize that you're the only person in the Temple who doesn't refer to them by their proper names, don't you? Jacen said as he shoved his plate away to cross his arms on the table. Why don't you just get over your hatred of her.  
  
Because she betrayed us, Jacen, Jaina growled, putting down her own fork. She took Uncle Luke away from us and was going to turn him in.  
  
But she didn't turn him over and that's the point. She is not some evil monster here to destroy us all, Jaina. She wants to learn the ways of the Jedi and she wants to raise her son.  
  
No, Jacen, she is being forced to train and the child was an accident. She didn't want him and she hates the thought of who fathered her son.  
  
There you go again with the unnecessary facts. I know. Everybody knows. The only person you're hurting here is yourself, Jaina. Jacen narrowed his eyes at his sister. Jaina simply continued as if she hadn't heard a word her brother had said.  
  
Personally, I liked the idea of sending her to some prison. Perhaps Kessel would have straightened her out. Jaina began to tap her upper lip in a thoughtful manner, her gaze turning to the ceiling. Yes, it definitely would have worked for her. Hard work, no light. Yes, yes, it sounds as if it would have fit her perfectly.  
  
Just like it worked and fit for Dad and Kyp? Jacen asked. Jaina's gaze shot back to her brother, her eyes narrowing to match his.  
  
They have nothing to do with this, Jacen—  
  
On the contrary, dear sister, they do. Dad was a criminal and Kessel hardly phased him. The stories he tells about his days there makes it sound as if the whole experience where some grand vacation on a Corellian beach. Jaina opened her mouth to argue but Jacen cut her off with a quick gesture of his hand. He then continued, If anything, Kessel fuelled Kyp's fire when he was younger than us. She's only partially trained and has so much raw power flowing through her it's quite frightening to think about what she could do if she became very angry. So, what makes her so different? I know it's not because she is a criminal or because she is strong, because you don't hold those things against Dad or Kyp. Is it because she beat you up fair and square? Jacen stood up and leaned forward on the table. Is it because she could attract the attention of people you know you never could? Jacen's eyes flickered to Ganner. Jaina's jaw dropped in outrage. You're jealous of her, aren't you?  
  
Ganner? Sith, Jacen, you think I'm jealous because that oaf fell in love with her? Before she barged in he didn't care about anything but himself. He would be in another woman's bed every other night; there was nothing that kept him from himself. He saw himself quite the player and quite the suave one. Remember: as long as he looks good doing whatever he's doing, he's quite pleased with himself; that's his motto, isn't it? Honestly, Jacen, what's gotten into you? What's made you make up such fantastical accusations? Jaina stood up as well and brought her face close to her brother's as she too leaned her weight against the table. Why are you defending her? _You_ haven't fallen in love with her, have you?  
  
but Jacen never got the chance to argue back for Anakin Solo, their younger brother, had walked up to them. He was watching the two with mild interest, his arms crossed over his chest.  
  
Am I interrupting something here? He asked.  
  
Just a little, Ani, Jaina growled. Anakin turned a scowl on her but further ignored Jaina by swinging one leg over the bench and sitting down.  
  
Why must you two constantly bicker about Keilana? He asked.  
  
Get your nose out of our business, Anakin, Jaina snapped, her gaze turning on the younger boy. Anakin simply shrugged as he started to pick food off of Jacen's plate.  
  
Well, when you hiss and scream at each other in the middle of the mess hall, it's kinda hard not to listen in, he said while chewing. Swallowing, he watched them for a moment. So, what's your problem with her this time, Jaina?  
  
Why do you automatically assume that _I_ am the one with the problem? Jaina frowned and turned to look at Jacen who wasn't quick enough to hide the smug grin that had spread across his lips. Anakin sensed the nasty retort to Jacen's expression his sister had coming and started talking to stop the confrontation from even starting.  
  
Because Jacen is too star-struck by Keilana to find any faults in her. Anakin said as he picked at Jacen's food some more. This time it was Jacen's turn to scowl. And you're jealous of what she can do, Jaina. Besides, you've never really liked her and Jacen has.  
  
Jaina glared at her youngest brother before sighing and dropping her head. What are you up to anyway?  
  
Why must you always assume that I'm up to something? As your brother, am I not allowed to simply want to spend time with my dear older siblings? Anakin blinked innocently as he slowly chewed away.  
  
Don't play with me, Anakin. I'm sure you can tell that I'm not in the mood for it.  
  
Anakin gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head. Dropping the piece of fruit he was about to eat, he crossed his arms and twisted to lean on the table.  
  
Uncle Luke wants to talk to you, both of you, he said, his eyes flickering to Jacen. Something about a new mission. Apparently there's trouble brewing in the Outer Rim that is rumored to be Vong related.  
  
  
  
That would be the most convenient seeing as he's already summoned Kyp.  
  
Jacen frowned and sat back. He wasn't very fond of the older Jedi. Three well-trained Jedi for a single mission? What's going on?  
  
I don't know, Anakin shrugged. I'm just the messenger boy.  
  
Jaina sighed as she stepped over the bench. Glancing at her half eaten meal, she turned and moved toward the doors, Jacen on her heel.  
  
What kind of trouble do you think it is, Jaina? He asked as soon as they were in an empty hallway. The Vong haven't moved out to the Outer Rim yet and it's hard to believe that they would skip over a huge part of the galaxy.  
  
Who knows what goes through their minds, Jacen. Besides, if you think about it, it could make sense. Take over a part of the galaxy that is relatively unprotected and then move in on Coruscant from two sides or more. It's quite strategic, actually, and we know that this planet is their ultimate target.  
  
No, their ultimate target is to destroy everything mechanical and all life that doesn't follow their ways.  
  
You know what I mean, Jacen, Jaina said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.  
  
After that, the two walked on in silence and it didn't take long for them to navigate their way to their uncle's office. As soon as the door slid open, they stepped in. Kyp and Luke turned to look at them.  
  
So Anakin found you, Luke said with a nod of approval. He was quicker than I thought he would be. He waved them toward two empty seats and waited for the twins to sit down before he started. As you already know, or so I assume, there have been reports of Yuuzhan Vong trouble in the Outer Rim. Now, nobody has actually seen one of the aliens, but, as everyone now knows, there are ways that they can hide.  
  
What kind of trouble? Jaina piped up. Luke turned his gaze on her and smiled softly.  
  
I was getting to that, Jaina, don't be hasty. He nodded and glanced back toward the others, meeting their gazes individually. Jaina scowled when Luke wasn't looking at her. There have been reports of destroyed technology and beaten and dismantled droids. Several civilians have been found dead, covered in amphistaff wounds, their features completely unrecognisable.  
  
That's sick, Kyp said, his upper lip raised in a soft snarl.  
  
Yes it is. I want you three to head out that way within the week to see what you can't find out. Our information is patched and hazy as Karrde is too busy with other business at the moment to hand us what he knows, if he knows anything at all. If you can, try to stay inconspicuous. This is a mission for gathering information only. Act only if you absolutely have too. We don't need the government to know that we are trying to handle this or the Vong to know that we are sending out three agents. It is imperative that you keep a low profile. Luke turned away from them for a moment to rummage through a desk drawer. Now, if you will give me your datapads I can transfer over what information I have and we can get down to the details.  
  
The three younger Jedi pulled out their respective datapads, uploading the information quickly. Once they all had the files to flip through, Luke started talking about the specifics of the mission, about how they would leave and how they would return. The four Jedi talked well into the night, planning everything out to the very last detail.  
  
  
  
  
  
As the Solo twins left the hall, Keilana followed them with her eyes, a smile spreading across her face. She had heard what they were up to, the careless children. Had anybody been willing to listen in and to pick out their voices from the rest of the crowd, they too would have heard the conversation word for word.   
  
Keilana? Are you listening?  
  
Keilana started and turned to look at Ganner. He had his brow furrowed, his eyes flickering toward the doors the children had just left through.  
  
Yes, of course I am, Ganner, she said, picking at her food. Jax was sitting on Ganner's lap, steady in Ganner's careful hands, as he gripped the black material of the Jedi's tunic. His brown eyes, however, were steady on Keilana as she talked, a sort of half-smile on his tiny lips.  
  
Then you heard my offer to take Jax off your hands for a bit.  
  
Yes, yes of course I did. I don't know, Ganner, you heard what I said earlier today. I trust other people enough, I just don't know if I can handle myself being away from him. I guess I'll have to get used to leaving him with other people eventually. Keilana sighed and pushed a piece of meat across her plate. Sure, I'll think about it.  
  
  
  
What do you mean?  
  
You. This will be good for you, Key. You look like you need some time by yourself, to sleep at least.  
  
I get plenty of sleep, Ganner. He can sleep through most of the night now with only one or two feedings. You should know that by now. She poked him hard in the chest before taking Jax away. Jax smiled widely as he gripped Keilana's jacket and proceed to drool all over her shoulder.  
  
I don't spend as much time in your bed as either of us might like. Ganner shrugged as if the statement were nothing but a simple fact and leaned forward to eat his now cold food. Keilana nodded absently and watched Anakin Solo as he stood up and left. Setting her jaw, Keilana tried to figure out why the twin's new mission sounded familiar but nothing was coming. She knew she had heard something like it not too long ago.  
  
Standing up, Keilana stepped back from the table. Ganner looked at her, confusion crossing his eyes as he furrowed his brow.  
  
I just remembered something I have to do back in my room, Ganner. Besides, it's time for Jax's nap, she said quickly. Leaning down and placing a kiss on Ganner's forehead, Keilana exited the hall and nearly ran into Anakin Solo, who was standing right outside the doors. He turned to look at Keilana and gave her a lopsided grin so like his father's.  
  
Sorry about that, Keilana, he said, stepping back and crossing his arms. Just a moment of indecision.  
  
I'm sure, Keilana said, a smile flickering across her lips. She was busy inspecting Jax to make sure the near-collision hadn't harmed him in any way. The young boy had not apparently noticed as he was still drooling and cooing away.  
  
Jaxon has grown quite a bit, hasn't he? Anakin asked, attempting friendly conversation. Keilana nodded, her mind preoccupied with the mission she had overheard about. She almost suspected Anakin able to read her thoughts.   
  
Yes, yes he has, hasn't he, Keilana said with a nod, obviously distracted. Now, I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but I really must be rushing off. It's Jax's nap time and if he doesn't sleep then he's a real terror.  
  
Oh, well, I'll talk to you later then. Anakin furrowed his brow slightly as he watched Keilana closely.  
  
Yes, later. Keilana smiled at him, mentally beating herself up. If that hadn't sounded suspicious, what would? Anakin obviously did not believe her excuse but there was really no point to cause an internal dispute over it. What had been said had been said and there was no way she could take it back now.  
  
With a final smile, Keilana turned around and left Anakin in the hall. She hurried to her room and, after putting Jax down in his crib (it really was nearly time for his nap), Keilana picked up her datapad and turned it on. The soft light it emitted was the only light in the entire room. It lit up Keilana's face turning her skin white and her dark hair a sort of silvery-blue. The light reflected in her dark eyes as she turned to the Net and started flipping through the latest jobs.  
  
There. There it was. Sent to her by an old contact of hers—a man who would find her the best jobs for both a nominal fee and fair protection from the men after him—was the latest big one. The bounty was on a man claiming to be a member of the Peace Brigade doing work in the Outer Rim by smashing up droids and killing off civilians who did not see the Light of the True Way. If this was not the man the Jedi were going after, Keilana would give her left arm.   
  
Looking down at the screen, Keilana felt that unmistakable yearning to be on the hunt again. It almost felt as if some giant hook had attached to her navel and was pulling her out of the room, the urge was so strong. However, glancing across the room and to the crib where Jax lay with his fist shoved into his mouth, made that hook dissolve. Sighing, Keilana placed the datapad on the bed next to her and stood up. She walked to the window and pushed the curtain out of the way. The midday sun streamed into the room through the light clouds that covered the sky.   
  
After a long while of standing at the window, listening to Jax's breathing as it eventually slowed into the even rhythm of sleep, Keilana decided that a look could not be harmful. Just so long as it stayed a look. Looking but not touching had never brought harm to anybody. Or, at least, no one Keilana knew. Allowing a smile to creep across her lips, Keilana turned away from the window, allowing the curtains to fall back into place as she picked up her comlink. Dialling the correct number and frequency, Keilana waited for the familiar rough voice to answer.  
  
Keilana responded with a smile. I believe you have a job for me, Clancy?  
  
The voice on the other end drawled out a single word, a smile in the man's tone.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Before Ganner could get very far into the room, Keilana was on her feet and across the floor.  
  
I think I will take you up on your offer to take care of Jax for a little while, Ganner.  
  
Ganner blinked several times before comprehension dawned on him.  
  
And what brought this on? Suddenly decide that you couldn't wait to get away from the little twerp? Ganner grinned as he brushed a piece of hair out of her face. You even showered for your little exertion. This must really mean something to you.  
  
Keilana shot Ganner a death look and closed her arms over her chest. He is not a twerp, you big lug. And yes, I did bother to shower as I have reason to be around other people.  
  
What? I suddenly don't count as other people'?  
  
Keilana said with a single shake of her head. I could stink as bad as a dead nerf and you would still follow me around like a wide-eyed pup.  
  
Ganner opened his mouth to retort but the words seemed to die in his throat. Instead, he shook his own head and sighed. Yeah, that's probably true.  
  
Keilana grinned widely and touched Ganner's cheek. I know you so well.  
  
Too well, Ganner muttered with a grin. Keilana dropped her head in fake exasperation and let out a sigh before stepping back and moving to Jax's cradle. She didn't pick him up. Rather, she just looked over him and smiled gently, running a finger over his forehead and then over one of the fists he had stuck straight up in the air as he slept.  
  
Where are you going off to? Ganner asked as he came up behind Keilana. Placing a hand on her stomach and pulling her back against him, Ganner put his other hand on Jax's cradle, creating quite a domestic scene as he too looked down on the sleeping babe.  
  
To meet an old friend, Keilana shrugged. She didn't bother mentioning, of course, that this old friend happened to be her number one informer and the man who found many of her bounties when she wasn't contacted directly. I haven't seen him since before accepting the Skywalker job.  
  
  
  
Don't get jealous, Ganner. He's old and scarred up and Turning against him, she studied his face. Seriously, don't worry about where my heart lies. I'm not about to run off with some man as old as my father and just leave Jax here with you Jedi.  
  
Us Jedi? You do know that your son is going to be trained as one, don't you?  
  
It's not like I can hide him now, Ganner, Keilana said with a roll of her eyes. However, there was some sort of emotion that shined through the sarcasm that Ganner could not figure out. It almost looked as if the thought of her son being trained as a Jedi pained Keilana somehow. He could tell that she was still hiding something; always hiding something.   
  
As Ganner mused, Keilana pulled back and away from him. She smiled softly and glanced down at her son, the near-pained expression gone. Now don't worry about me, I can handle myself. She gave a sweeping gesture that included two holstered blasters. Reaching into her short flight jacket, Keilana pulled out a piece of flimsy. Here, I wrote out some instructions for you just in case you have trouble remembering Jax's bedtime routine.  
  
Bedtime routine, Ganner said, taking the piece of flimsy and glancing at it.  
  
Yeah, that's what I called it, have a problem with that?  
  
No, it just sounds so I don't know, so motherly.  
  
Keilana rose her brow. Having a baby kind of does that to a woman.  
  
Ganner shrugged and stuck the piece of flimsy into his pocket.   
  
You know where everything is and if you have problems don't hesitate to ask Cilghal or one of the other mother's around the Temple, I'm sure they would be all too happy to help. Now, I don't know when I'll be back so you'll have to stay over tonight—  
  
That won't be a problem.  
  
Keilana grinned. No, I'm sure it won't be. Anyway, if there is an emergency, you know how to contact me.  
  
I feel like an irresponsible teenager being left alone with your son for the first time.  
  
You know, I sometimes see you in that light, Ganner, Keilana said as she headed toward the door. Ganner simply shook his head and followed her out into the hall, stopping in the doorway. Keilana tilted her head up and planted a quick kiss on Ganner's lips. I shouldn't be too long. He's just passing through and has time for a quick chat and maybe a drink or two.  
  
You know that you shouldn't be drinking while breast feeding.  
  
Thank you Doctor Rhysode for that warning, Keilana said as she walked past him quickly to give Jax a kiss on the forehead. Then, exiting to the hall once more, Keilana shrugged. Besides, I never said that I would be the one drinking.  
  
True enough. Well, have fun, I guess, Ganner said as he leaned against the door frame, his hands in his pockets.  
  
I will. And thank you for taking care of Jax.  
  
Of course, just take care of yourself since I won't be around to pick up the pieces of you if you fall apart. Ganner cocked one hand in farewell and Keilana grinned as she disappeared around the corner.   
  
Sighing, Ganner turned back into the room and looked over the sleeping child.  
  
Looks like it's just you and me, little man, he said. Jax stirred slightly in his sleep and let out a low, moaning wail before falling back into his slumber. It was almost as if he could feel his mother leaving.  
  
  
  
  
  
It did not take Keilana long to locate the Staggering Bantha as she had met Clancy there many times in the past. It was his favorite little watering hole on all of Coruscant and, while not the most despicable bar she had ever been in, it certainly was close to it. Just walking in through the low, pointed arch doorway brought back memories of her life before the Jedi and before Jax. Imagining a life without Jax made Keilana feel oddly empty inside. Shaking her head free of the thought and unconsciously dampening her presence in the Force, Keilana straightened her back and walked deeper into the bar.  
  
She gained many lingering glances as she was the only female of any species in the bar, if one did not include the dancers on the stage. Truth be told, all of the dancers could have afforded to loose a kiloor five.   
  
Looking around, Keilana quickly picked out the familiar silvering-red hair of Clancy and walked purposefully over to him. As soon as she sat down in his booth, all eyes snapped back to their drinks.  
  
I see you still have quite a reputation around here, she said, looking up into the sharp green eye of her old friend; the other was clouded over and blinded from an accident long ago. He smiled and gestured at the rest of the bar with his slightly chunky drink. Keilana was quite disgusted.  
  
They all know I am not someone to mess with and that's why I keep coming back to this bar, he said, his accent giving a lazy drawl to his voice. Tipping his glass and nodding his head to the bartender, Clancy turned back to Keilana. I like being respected rather than hunted, though you certainly have kept those men at bay.  
  
They haven't come in a long time, Clancy. I believe they think you're dead.  
  
Then praise be to them, he said, taking a healthy mouthful of his greenish-brown drink. And how have you been? It's been a long time since you showed your face and rumors started up that you finally got yourself killed.  
  
Keilana asked. She chuckled and shook her head. No, not dead, just resting.  
  
Resting? Well it doesn't look like it's working too well with those bags you've got there, Clancy said as he set down his drink. Though, you certainly do have a rather healthy glow about you, your skin especially.  
  
Keilana smiled and glanced down at the table. She started to wonder if whether or not Clancy would be able to tell that she had borne a child. However, if he did, he did not talk further on the issue. Instead, he fell silent for a moment before starting up on another subject.  
  
So this bounty is what brought you out of your hiding place? I can't blame you, personally. If I were any good I'd be going after him and I'm sure anyone who has access to the Net will be on the hunt.  
  
Keilana nodded and traced the deep scratches on the table with a gloved finger. Good thing none of the Elite like watching the Net. Only the Gutter Hunters watch it religiously these days.  
  
So you're suddenly not part of the Elite anymore?  
  
No, I am, or, at least, I assume I'm still in that league, Keilana said with a shake of her head. I meant all of the other ones who are too good to watch such an abomination to the art of hunting. In fact, I know that many of them don't even have access. It's a tricky thing, the Net, though not as temperamental as some of the other information systems out there.  
  
Clancy nodded as he finished off his drink. And it's nice that I can have access to it to find stuff for you.  
  
That it is, Clance, that it is. But we are not here to discuss the pros and cons of the Net. Despite the information you were able to gather and send me, I know that there is more and that you know it.  
  
Very right you are. The man's name is Josef Trigen—brown hair, blue eyes, tall with a medium build—born to respectable nerf ranchers on Corellia, and fairly young. He joined up with the Peace Brigade very early in the war and has been an active member ever since. He truly believes that the Yuuzhan Vong will spare his life. Clancy shook his head. 'Tis a shameful thing what some of the young'uns think these days Anyway, it has been reported that he's out in the Outer Rim stirring up some trouble with a couple of his comrades but that has not been confirmed as of yet. It will take a great deal of work to figure out his exact location but I know you have the contacts to find him right quick.  
  
That I do, Keilana muttered, glancing around the bar. The dancers had started to dance to something a bit more lively, a couple of them singing. Had the girls been even a bit attractive or talented it might have been slightly more enjoyable than a salted wound. Grimacing slightly, Keilana turned back to Clancy. Who's paying for this job?  
  
A powerful crime organization under the banner of an exploding star.  
  
  
  
Clancy nodded. But better known as the Arm these days after the take over.  
  
Mmm, I heard about that.  
  
I'm not surprised. It was a big thing a couple of years back when you were just starting out. No one knows who this new crimelord is, as everyone just refers to him as The Crimelord'. No name nor face has ever been connected to him.  
  
That sounds a lot like the last guy I worked for.  
  
Once again, that's not surprising. It's the big thing these days as far as syndicates go. If the underlings don't have a face to connect to their master then they are even more afraid of him. It's some psychological thing that I don't understand. Clancy pushed his empty drink glass around on the table without much point; just something for his hands to do.  
  
You're lucky your boss has a face, Keilana grinned.  
  
Yeah, that way I don't have to be afraid of you, at least not in the physical department. He laughed lightly at Keilana's scowl and grinned widely, showing off several gold teeth. But I am still very frightened of you, you know that. I've seen the things you can do.  
  
Good, just so long as this whole hunter-informer relationship is still understood by both parties. Keilana nodded and glanced around the bar one last time. If you're done then I'll have to take my leave. I have a lot of things to do tonight and that's not counting gathering information for this bounty.  
  
So you're going to take it?  
  
I'll think about it. Besides, even if I don't hunt him in the end, I can still trade my information for a pretty penny. He's hot, this Trigen, and a lot of people are going to go after him.   
  
Very true.  
  
And I already know some people who might be keen on this information.  
  
Do you?  
  
Keilana nodded and stood up.   
  
You know how to contact me. And without another word, Keilana strode out of the bar and to the speeder she had parked not too far away from the small establishment. She hopped over the side into the pilot seat and, rather than starting up the engine and soaring out of there, she sat still for a moment, staring straight ahead and into the dark. This was what her life had been like before she had taken the Skywalker job. She had lived on her ship and in the dingy bars around the galaxy, hunting and gathering information. She had not lived in one place for most of her life until coming to the Temple. It was almost weird being back in the dark and stench of the lower streets, but so calming and familiar at the same time.   
  
With a shake of her head, Keilana started up the ignition and and pulled back on the controls, flying up into the starless night of Coruscant.  
  
  
  
  
  
Keilana let the offered bounty brew around in her thoughts for several days before acting on it. There were several steps she would have to take before starting the hunt, the most difficult being the first. Somehow, she would have to come up with a good and logical reason to leave the Temple. The most obvious way seemed to be the most difficult, but it was worth a shot all the same.  
  
Master Skywalker, Keilana said, sidling up to him as he walked down the hall. Luke glanced over at Keilana and nodded, not at all surprised by her sudden appearance.  
  
Good day, Keilana, he said. What is it that you want?  
  
Keilana said, playing innocent. Why must you assume that I want something when I seek you out in the labyrinth of the Temple?  
  
Because it is a labyrinth and I know that you have better things to do than to track down an old man who tends to get on your case about restarting your training. Luke gave Keilana a slight grin. Well, get on with it then. Ask me what you're going to ask.  
  
Keilana heaved a tragic sigh and rolled her eyes momentarily heavenward. You know me all too well, Master. Yes, I am afraid that there is something that I am going to request since I did bother to track you down.  
  
And what is it? Luke continued walking at his quick pace as he continued reading the text on his datapad. Keilana glanced at the small computer as she kept pace but Luke had it tilted to an angle so that she could not read it.  
  
I heard about the mission you are sending Kyp, Jacen, and Jaina on, she said rather bluntly. This got Luke's attention. He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Keilana.  
  
And how  
  
Don't ask questions, Master. Sometimes there are things that are better left unsaid.  
  
Luke sighed and shook his head. I don't like that you know about things that you shouldn't know about, Keilana. You really must drop this bad habit of yours and drop it quickly. Rubbing his forehead, Luke pursed his lips. Okay, so you've heard about the mission. I guess I can't change that. What do you want?  
  
I want to go along.  
  
  
  
Think about it, Master, I could be a great asset. Keilana said, stepping in front of Luke as he started to walk away. Luke eyed her suspiciously, his eyes flashing.  
  
And what kind of a profit would you be making out of going?  
  
You think that this is a bounty? I am appalled, Master. Have I not proven to you that I am no longer hunting?  
  
Now you are the one jumping to conclusions, Keilana, and that makes it hard for me to not to help but wonder if this is in fact a bounty. Luke crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight to one leg. Keilana furrowed her brow. It was quite obvious that a battle of the wills was coming on.  
  
This would be a great opportunity to advance my training, Master.  
  
And what about your son?  
  
I have to learn to get away from him eventually, Master, why not start now?  
  
It could be dangerous, Luke countered as he tilted his chin slightly to look directly into Keilana's eyes. She narrowed hers into two dark slits that were not quite fierce.  
  
I thought that this was only a mission to gather information, Master. Luke's eyes widened. She apparently knew more about it than he had suspected. However, Keilana did not seem to notice his reaction for she continued on. Besides, who could you find that would be better at gathering information than a _former_ bounty hunter with connections in the underworld? I can find out all sorts of things that could help this mission without even leaving my room.  
  
Are you sure that this is something you want to be telling me?  
  
What about trust, Master?  
  
I still do not trust you, Keilana.  
  
Fine, but doesn't this mean that I trust you enough to tell you something that could be damaging to myself?  
  
Luke appeared to be considering that for a moment before shaking his head. Does this have anything to do with your father?  
  
This time Keilana actually snarled out loud. Why the hell would you think that? You were there. If he were lying in a gutter dying of thirst I wouldn't even spit on him. I don't ever want to see him again, not after what he said about Jax. I don't even want to be thinking about him. He is a snake and a rat and a dirty, rotten excuse for a man. I hope he gets what's coming to him and quick at that.  
  
I'm sorry I brought him up then, Luke said without an ounce of sincerity in his voice. Keilana's eyes flashed dangerously and whether or not Luke picked it up, he did not acknowledge. Look, Keilana, I have to get to a meeting.  
  
And I still want to go on that mission, Keilana said, not giving up any ground. You have to admit that I could find out far more information than any of the three Jedi you are sending away.  
  
Okay then, I admit that you would be far better then Kyp, Jaina, or Jacen as far as gathering information goes, but it is still dangerous.  
  
So you don't think that I can take care of myself?  
  
I have no doubt that you can take of yourself.  
  
Then why aren't you letting me go? You said it yourself that I would be a very good asset on the mission.  
  
And that is because I don't trust you.  
  
So you think that I might sell them all out?  
  
There are great rewards for the turn over of the twins, Keilana, and I'm sure that if anyone knows that then it is you. Luke narrowed his eyes to match Keilana glare for glare. The Force was practically crackling around them.  
  
I would not betray the Jedi.  
  
You would have been willing to a year ago.  
  
That wouldn't have been betrayal, _Master_, because I wasn't a part of the Jedi then. I was a bounty hunter and one of the Elite. I sometimes think that coming here was a mistake as all I have found is hatred and mistrust. For being Champions of Peace, the Jedi sure are doing a lousy job at keeping things peaceful within their own Temple which, might I add, includes welcoming the Force-strong into their midst, hearts, and minds.  
  
Luke bit back a rather rude comment and forced himself to relax his shoulders and breathe in a calming breath.  
  
Listen, I really do have somewhere I have to be but I will think about your request.  
  
It could be a great opportunity to advance my skills, Master, Keilana said, giving an outward appearance of relaxing. You bother me every time you see me to continue on with my training and this could do wonders where other methods might fail. I am not a green babe who has never seen the real world on her own. I know what happens and I know the reality that we live in. She dampened her appearance in the Force but Luke could tell that she was still very agitated about the whole situation. Besides, my ship is very advanced and far better then anything you have here. I have also made sure that she has no distinguishing marks. You let me go and you've got my ship to use as a transport craft. She's state of the art despite being twice my age at the very least. Send me along and you get the best money could offer free of charge. That, you must admit, is a rather nice deal.  
  
Luke nodded slightly and stepped around Keilana. This time she let him pass.   
  
Like I said, Keilana, I'll think about it.  
  
I would say that that is all I am asking of you, Master, but that would be a lie as we both would know.  
  
I'll think about it, Luke said a final time, turning to look at her over his shoulder. Without another word he turned back around and disappeared around a corner. Keilana smiled and stayed where she was in the middle of the hallway, her arms closed over her chest.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
--------  
  
A/N - Ahhh! Run for the hills! This story actually has a plot! *gasp* And, not only that, but this chapter was almost all plot! *gasp again* On another note, sorry this chapter took so long to write. Finals were a bitch (an even bigger one than midterms) and that gosh darned writer's block struck again. That and half the chapter was on another computer which meant that I couldn't access it until I got home for the holidays and I got real busy around Christmas time (which was when I planned on posting this chapter). Anyway, enough with the excuses! Until we meet again, adieu.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Monster

A/N: *skids into FF.net* Okay, okay, no need to panic, I have not fallen off the face of this earth. I am simply going through a program that sucks up any free-time I might have as well as being a college athlete. Just let me warn all you youngsters out there that studying architecture and having a life do not mix! And if you throw in a sport then you can kiss good bye to sleeping and eating as well! Well, now that I have ranted on and on, here is the chapterfinally. Enjoy mis amigos.  
  
--------  
  
  
Monster  
  
  
  
  
On the day they were to leave the Temple for their mission, Jaina Solo ran into the hanger, panting and gasping out her apologies for being late. However, no one was there to hear her out. Furrowing her brow and staring straight ahead, Jaina dropped the bags she was holding and muttered one word:   
  
In front of her a jet black YT-1300 was being loaded full of supplies; supplies enough for perhaps three or four people to take on a long journey. Frowning, Jaina left her bags where they were and went in search of her twin. It didn't take long for her to find him.  
  
What's the meaning of this! Jacen! Jaina placed her hands on her hips and stared down at the brown-haired young man in front of her. Jacen looked up from where he was kneeling and checking on supplies. His face did not betray what he was feeling on the inside nor did his presence in the Force.  
  
What do you think is going on, Jaina? Jacen said, his tone short and annoyed. Keilana's just been assigned to the mission. The _Scrimshaw_ is now our transport craft and home for the next few weeks or so. He stood up to face Jaina as he wiped his hands on a greasy rag. I don't know how she pulled it off, but Uncle Luke made the official announcement this morning while you were sleeping. He commed Kyp and myself after failing to get a hold of you.  
  
Jaina sighed as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight. Blowing a strand of flyaway hair out of her face, Jaina focused her eyes over Jacen's shoulder to where Keilana was standing and issuing directions. What'd she do to weed her way into the mission? Jaina said with a growl.  
  
Well, Kyp has his twisted theories but I, personally, think that Uncle Luke is letting her come along to advance her training. Plus, he's suspicious that she already knows something about this guy that she won't tell us.  
  
Then why doesn't he force the information out of her? She doesn't have to come along just because she might know something.  
  
Jacen quirked an eyebrow and matched his sister's stance. I know how you feel about her, Jaina, but think of it like this: Is there anyone you know who could possibly be a better tracker than Keilananot counting Aunt Mara? She's spent her entire life doing this sort of a thing and now she's doing it to help us out. Cool off for a moment and don't let your personal feelings get in the way of the mission.  
  
Jaina suppressed a growl as she clutched her fists at her sides before turning away from her brother and stalking off to retrieve her abandoned bags. Once grabbing them, she made her way towards _Scrimshaw_.  
  
As Jaina approached Keilana, the woman turned toward her, Jax cradled in her arms as he played with his foot. Jaina, however, ignored Keilana and continued right up onto the lowered ramp. She had not made it two steps before a hand landed firmly on her shoulder forcing her to turn around. She met the smiling face of Keilana with a snarl.  
  
I don't know what shoddy ettiquettes your parents taught you about boarding a ship but it is generally polite to ask the permission of the captain before boarding it.  
  
Isn't permission assumed in this case? Jaina shrugged Keilana's hand off her shoulder.  
  
Not when you don't know where you're going, Solo.  
  
I thought this ship was like my father's?  
  
With slight variations, Keilana said without a break in her expression.  
  
I was just going to drop the bags off in the lounge.  
  
An amused smile flickered across Keilana's face. Then you would probably have ended up among the holding pens. I gutted the ship and redesigned her layout for maximum efficiency. Much of the _Scrimshaw_ is devoted to cells with living space enough for perhaps three people. I didn't have casual passengers in mind.  
  
We are not casual.  
  
Well you certainly aren't bountyheads, are you? Because I can put you up in the cages if you would rather.  
  
Jaina scowled and looked away from Keilana only to turn back to the older woman but not look her in the eye. Where should I put my bags?  
  
Right this way, Keilana said, stepping around Jaina. She shifted Jax to her shoulder and walked up the ramp. The boy's eyes locked on Jaina and he smiled, evoking one out of Jaina in spite of herself. When Jaina didn't immediately follow, Keilana turned to look at her forcing Jaina to wipe the smile from her face.   
  
Give me a moment to react, will you?  
  
Keilana shrugged and turned back to the hallway to disappear immediately within the ship. Jaina followed with muttered curses on her breath. She could not stand this woman! How she was going to last several weeks without doing something drastic, Jaina could not even begin to fathom. If ever there was to be a magnificent clash of personalities, it was to be this trip between Keilana Fett and Jaina Solo.  
  
Despite the fact that the ship was Keilana's, Jaina found herself quite intrigued by it. She had never been on a bounty hunter's ship before and it interested her to see what Keilana had kept and what she had removed. And it was true, the cages did dominate a large part of Keilana's ship while the living area was small indeed.   
  
Here we are, Keilana said after a moment. Shifting Jax in her arms, Keilana opened a door. Jaina peered inside before looking back at Keilana.   
  
It looks like a closet.  
  
Well, yes, it is being used as a closet but if you push a couple of things around and pull down the cots, you will notice that it is a suitable room to sleep in. Either that or you three can fight over the couch there. Keilana smiled and pointed one long finger across the room they were in. Your brother and Kyp have expressed no displeasure about the sleeping arrangements and I suggest you do the same.  
  
I'm sure, Jaina muttered under her breath. Keilana cast a dangerous look in Jaina's direction without saying a thing.  
  
I'll just leave you to your devices since I need to get back to the hanger floor. I trust that you don't need to be told to not touch anything?  
  
Well since you did anyway Jaina shook her head, a sneer set on her face.  
  
Keilana said as she turned away from the younger woman. Taking Jax in her hands, Keilana kissed his nose and threw him lightly up in the air, the boy giggling madly as his mother laughed. Keilana smiled and disappeared around the corner to leave Jaina in the middle of the tiny lounge.  
  
Sighing, Jaina dropped her bags and went to clean out the sleeping space.  
  
  
  
  
  
Just as Keilana was about to exit the ship, her communit started to beep furiously. Swearing as many eyes turned toward her, Keilana pulled the comm off her belt and held it up to her lips.  
  
This better be important, she snarled into the receiver.  
  
Well, that depends on whether or not you're in the market for information, Keilana. Clancy's voice echoed out of the small unit, his lazy drawl on words heavy.   
  
Hold on a second, will you? Keilana clicked the tiny mute button on her comm. Glancing around to make sure everything was in order, Keilana turned from the hatch and made her way to the cockpit. This was one of the only places she felt free to talk with so many people around.   
  
After placing Jax—who had fallen asleep—in the rarely used co-pilot's seat (Keilana honestly did not know why she hadn't removed it yet), she slid into the captain's seat, her feet up on the control panel. She then opened the arm of the chair to select a button that locked down the cockpit. No one could get in, no sound could get out. Just another feature for her ship Keilana had figured out how to install with little expense and no outside knowledge.  
  
Okay, Clancy, Keilana said once she was settled, you may continue.  
  
I assume you're comfortable since you took so bloody long? I don't have all day, you know, Clancy's voice bristled.  
  
Nor do I, Clancy, but let us remember who is paying who and who would be dead and burned if it weren't for the other, get it?   
  
Clancy said something that Keilana couldn't quite make out but she figured she got the gist of it anyway.  
  
Good, now that that has been straightened out, what information do you have for me?  
  
Well, I don't have the information, per sey, but I can tell you who does.  
  
Go on.  
  
I think you might know him; Kinyyn j'Vine?  
  
Son-in-law to Rue Kincaid?  
  
You certainly do know your pirates, Keilana.  
  
Keilana shrugged even though Clancy wouldn't be able to see it. They are a handy group of people to become familiar with. Besides, I've met with him in the past. He's good at gathering information.  
  
Clancy made a sound before continuing. Keilana could not help but chuckle.  
  
Anyway, j'Vine has been spotted around Hutt Space recently. More specifically, he's on Nar Shaada working on a big deal, or so word has it. A red-haired munchkin has also been spotted following him around with a datapad in hand. Apparently a new generation is on its way to pirating.  
  
Get to the point, Keilana growled.  
  
He's willing to meet you in Slightly's Tavern within the next two weeks to give you what information he has. You've been good to him lately?  
  
He owes me a few favors, Keilana said, ending that line of thought. Leaning forward, she typed in the name Slightly's Tavern into her computer. Within a moment, a list of coordinates and directions came up. It was in one of the worst and poorest districts on the moon. What's j'Vine doing bringing a kid into a place like Sector 54?  
  
s a pirate, Keilana, Clancy said as if it explained everything. All he cares about is money and where he can get it. I doubt that kid of his is innocent with the family he married into. Hell, old Kincaid himself has enough money to live through four lives without ever having to lift a finger and you know he didn't get that wealthy by being polite. His organization is made up of a bunch of the most ruthless pirates in space. That and he is literally a pirating genius. The old man comes up with schemes that would blow someone's mind and I know for a fact that he has plants and spies in some of the largest corporations in the galaxy. Mark my word, that j'Vine kid is tough.  
  
Keilana shrugged and sat back in her seat once again. So, Slightly's Tavern, two weeks, j'Vine and munchkin. Got it. Have anything else for me?  
  
Only that our friend Trigen has become awfully quiet as of late. I haven't received any more information about murders or smashed droids in the last week.  
  
Most people quiet down when they get wind of a bounty on their head. At least he's slightly intelligent. It's never any fun to hunt dumb ones. Those jobs make me feel as if I am doing the entire galaxy a much needed favor. Keilana turned to a knock on the door separating the cockpit from the rest of the ship. I've got to get going, Clancy. My companions are going to start suspecting something is up.  
  
Keeping company, Keilana?  
  
Not for long, Clancy, Keilana said right before clicking the comm off and replacing it. She then picked up the stirring child before unlocking the door to the cockpit. Turning slowly in her chair, Keilana smiled as Ganner stepped over the threshold.  
  
We were beginning to wonder where you'd gotten yourself off too.  
  
Keilana titled her head in a shrug as she cradled her son. Just needed a moment away from the confusion to be alone with Jax.  
  
You're going to miss him, aren't you?  
  
I've never been away from him for more than a couple of hours, Ganner. Several weeks is a long time. A tear started to form in Keilana's eye as she rubbed her cheeks against Jax's. He smiled sleepily up at her before grabbing her jacket and pulling it into his mouth.  
  
Ganner simply nodded as he put a hand on Keilana's hair. About to say something, Ganner shifted his gaze out the viewport as something interrupted him.   
  
Oh, yeah, Keilana said with a little laugh as she gestured over her shoulder. We're scheduled to leave at oh-nine-hundred, which, apparently, is a few minutes off. The others are going to start boarding.  
  
Then I better make this quick. Ganner took Keilana by the shoulders (taking care not to disturb the child) and pressed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. As he pulled back, Keilana kissed his chin through his goatee and placed her forehead on his shoulder with a sigh. Then, stepping back and turning her back to him, she stared at the control panel before her, leaning on it with one hand. Ganner sighed and turned from the cockpit, exiting without a word.   
  
As soon as Ganner left, Keilana looked up and out of the viewport to watch him leave the hanger before turning and exiting the cockpit herself. She quickly made her way to the hatch. Luke Skywalker met her halfway up the ramp and she offered him her child after a quick goodbye and a soft peck on the cheek. Luke then turned from her and left the hanger as well. Jax, as soon as he was in the hallway, started wailing and Keilana's heart broke in two, but she had to stay strong. So, closing off her emotions, Keilana set her chin and tilted it skyward.   
  
We _are_ leaving for this mission now, aren't we? She asked, her voice strong and sure. It had not betrayed her. Looking around, Keilana's gaze swept over the three Jedi who were to accompany her on the mission. Almost simultaneously, they all started toward Keilana like a bad holodrama. Keilana had to choke down her chuckle.  
  
Coming upon the hatch, Jaina took the lead and brushed past Keilana, their shoulder's nearly touching. Keilana would have turned a scowl on her had the two men not been following so closely. Turning and ascending the hatch herself before either Kyp or Jacen had a chance to pass her, Keilana made directly for the cockpit, gesturing the others along. They followed without a word and stood around as Keilana slid into the pilot's couch.  
  
Keilana said, turning to look at them. There are three other seats. You don't have to be too picky since I don't need any of you to help man the ship at the moment. And with that, Keilana turned away from the three Jedi to allow them to figure out what to do on their own. She, on the other hand, started to go through her preflight checklist. It did not take long, for she had walked around and through her ship enough times before and during the loading process that she knew that there was nothing wrong with the old machine. All she needed now was the clearance to actually leave the academy.  
  
Leaning over a small microphone, Keilana's eyes flickered to Kyp as she sat next to her in the useless co-pilot's chair.  
  
_Scrimshaw_ to Academy Control. We're ready to book it out of here.  
  
Your path looks clear, _Scrimshaw_. A woman responded. Details to follow.  
  
The speaker clicked off as Keilana spun to receive the coordinates for a clear exit vector as Academy Control contacted Coruscant's Central Control. It didn't take long for the computer to register the information and to display it on a screen for Keilana to read.   
  
Okay, Jedi, Keilana said as she started up the main thrusters. The ship jolted slightly as one side rose faster than the other. Here we go.  
  
You're sure this thing is space worthy, right? Jaina asked from behind her. Keilana turned as she put on a headset before warming up the main thrusters.   
  
Very, Solo. Just because the hoverlifts have a sense of humor doesn't mean the rest of the ship has one. She's quite stable. She said this right before an alarm went off telling Keilana that the engines weren't quite willing to respond to her requests. Smiling at Jaina, Keilana turned back to her control console and employed an awfully effective technique; standing up, she kicked one of the control panels in a very worn spot. The alarms immediately went off and the engines roared to life. Smiling mostly to herself (as well at the wave of anxiety that rolled through the cockpit), Keilana sat back down and took hold of the controls before her. With the slight touch to a covered button, the _Scrimshaw_ lurched forward and out of the hanger as it roared through the air towards space.  
  
Before they could break atmosphere, Keilana was hailed.  
  
Planetary Control to _Scrimshaw_.  
  
This is _Scrimshaw._  
  
There has been a change in your exit vector, Captain, the man on the other end said. Keilana pursed her lips in annoyance. Please proceed to Vector Ninety-Three. Coordinates to follow. Control out.  
  
As the coordinates scrolled across the screen in front of Keilana, she swore out loud as she started to type them into the keypad at her left hand.  
  
What happened? Kyp asked, glancing at the woman next to him.  
  
The new coordinates bring us to the exact wrong side of the planet that we need to be on.  
  
  
  
We have a change in plans, Keilana said as she pulled back on the controls to rise above a piece of space junk. Muttering under her breath, Keilana turned to a small computer screen and typed something out on the keypad in front of it. A list of planets came up on the screen that Keilana started to flip through.  
  
We can't change plans! Jaina said, her voice barely concealing her growing anger. Everything has been planned out to the very last detail. There is a list of planets that we have to visit.  
  
Listen, Solo, Keilana said, turning a dangerous glance at the younger woman. I grew up tracking down people while you did not. If there is anyone here who knows how to track it is me, not you with your fancy upbringing and schooling. Sometimes things change and since I am the one who has the leads and you, might I remind you, do not, we will go where I feel we need to go.  
  
Though, since we are going to treat this as a democratic situation, Kyp interceded quickly, why don't you propose a system?  
  
Keilana narrowed her eyes at Kyp before looking back at the screen for a moment.  
  
Okay, fine, if you want to have input in the situation, I suggest that we travel to the Lye Cluster.  
  
Lye Cluster? Jacen asked from next to Jaina. Keilana nodded and pointed at the screen.  
  
It's a cluster of some twenty-odd planets out near Wild Space. They generally keep to themselves, which is probably why you haven't heard much about them. Anyway, they are some of the best intelligence agents in the galaxy. Besides, there are some people out that way who owe me a couple of favors. Flipping her ship around, Keilana started to input the coordinates to the planet Lye.  
  
What happened to us getting some input? Jaina snapped as she noticed what Keilana was doing.  
  
Well, you didn't speak up.  
  
Not that you actually gave us a chance!  
  
Well, Solo, Keilana said, her voice dangerous, nobody immediately objected.  
  
I am.  
  
On what grounds?  
  
Jaina didn't answer for a long while. Keilana's laugh came out as a bark.  
  
I thought so. Glancing at the other two Jedi, Keilana rose her brow. Any objections from the others?  
  
They both shook their heads.  
  
Sounds like a good enough place to start as any, Kyp said after a moment. And besides, if people owe you some favors, why not collect them now?  
  
My thoughts exactly, Kyp. Keilana said as she finished putting the coordinates into the navicomputer. So, since everybody agrees, Jaina snorted but otherwise didn't make a sound. Keilana simply ignored her. Here we go.  
  
Gripping the levers to boost the _Scrimshaw_ to lightspeed, Keilana pulled them back gently. The stars turned into long streaks of light as the ship started its long journey.   
  
  
  
  
  
Jaina turned around on the tiny cot she had claimed as her own to study her sleeping twin across from her. How could he sleep so peacefully being in the ship of a monster? Jaina could barely bring herself to close her eyes to meditate knowing that she could not escape and stay alive at the same time. Sighing and unfolding her legs, Jaina stood up and stretched. She had to do something since she couldn't rest nor let herself fall asleep.  
  
Opening the door to exit the now emptied-out closet, Jaina stepped into the dark cabin beyond. Where Kyp should have been sleeping on the couch there was only a pile of blankets half kicked to the floor. Kyp's Jedi robes were slung over the side of a chair in a haphazard fashion as was a tunic. Furrowing her brow, Jaina walked noiselessly through the cabin heading towards the cockpit. She fully expected to find both Keilana and Kyp inside and was surprised to find only the latter. He was sitting in the co-pilot's chair staring out at the streaks of starlight, his feet carefully placed on the console before him wearing only a pair of pants, boots, and an old undershirt. Smiling lightly, Jaina approached and placed a hand on the back of Kyp's chair. He looked up at her and smiled.  
  
For a moment there I was afraid you might be Keilana.  
  
If I had been then you would have been dead before you knew it, Kyp, Jaina said with a frown. I'm sure she wouldn't be too pleased to find you in here with your feet up on her controls.  
  
Don't sound so cynical, Jaina, Kyp scolded softly as he turned his gaze back to the viewport. Soundlessly, he gestured for Jaina to sit next to him. She rose her brow slightly before sitting on the edge of the captain's chair, glancing nervously at the door. She's sound asleep, Jaina. Don't be so jumpy.  
  
I can't help it Kyp, Jaina said after a moment. I don't like being on a ship with no real idea of where she is actually leading us. I mean, what if she was given another job, Kyp? My brother and I are valuable to the enemy and if she was offered a high enough price I wouldn't put it beyond her to turn us over. You would be an added bonus that could get her even more money. Have you ever thought about that?  
  
Of course I have, he admitted, his gaze not wavering from the stars outside. But I trust her enough to not do something so brash and blatant. Bounty hunters usually try not to make a scene when they hunt.  
  
This wouldn't be making a scene, Kyp, this would be making a statement to the galaxy.  
  
And what statement might that be, Jaina?  
  
That we have grown so stupid as to let a bounty hunter into our midst and let her waltz off without so much as a commotion with three unwary Jedi in the belly of her ship.  
  
Oh, come on, Jaina, Kyp said, turning to her fully. You have to get over these childish grudges you are holding against her.  
  
Childish, Kyp? Childish? You were part of this galaxy several months back, weren't you? You were around to witness the kidnapping of the leader of our order, right? What is there to trust about her? Jaina stood up and walked away from Kyp to the other side of the cockpit. Closing her arms over her chest, she scowled at the display before her that said everything was running at optimal efficiency.  
  
Yes, Jaina, childish. Everyone else has learned to trust her to some degree except for you. You can't see past the one major mistake she made with the Jedi. Kyp stood up to walk closer to Jaina.  
  
Don't you talk, Jaina said, her anger barely concealed as she turned on Kyp, her eyes narrowed into two dark slits of fire. her voice was shaking with her anger. You have to fucking stop lusting after her. She does not want you. She does not care about you. All she cares about is herself and that bastard son of hers. Once you can stop idolizing her, you will be able to see her for the monster she truly is, Kyp.  
  
Kyp's eyes opened in surprise at the incredible hate coming through in Jaina's voice. After a moment of initial shock, he put his hands on her shoulders and shook her once. Jaina's anger flared.  
  
What the hell are you doing, Kyp!  
  
Trying to snap you out of this, Jaina. What's gotten into you? Kyp stared at Jaina and began sorting through the mess of emotions radiating off the young woman before him.   
  
Jaina furrowed her brow further before dropping her head. Kyp could feel her shoulder's shake slightly.  
  
She scared me so bad when she took Uncle Luke, Kyp. I thought I would never see him again and I don't want to be caught up in sort sort of a conspicuously involving her because they barely escaped last time and I don't know how many tricks she has up her sleeve, nor do I know how many are up mine nor yours nor Jacen's.  
  
Don't worry, Jaina, Kyp said, putting one hand almost fatherly on her hair. Three trained Jedi and one fully capable bounty hunter can beat the odds no matter what they are. I'm sure Keilana is a master of getting out of sticky situations just like your brother and you are. Our time hasn't come yet, Jaina, and if you think Keilana will be your undoing than do everything you can short of killing her or harming her in any way to prevent that from happening. She's not getting to you, Jaina, you're getting to you.  
  
Jaina pulled away from Kyp at those words and started walking down the hallway outside the cockpit. Kyp followed after her, reluctant to leave the post Keilana had asked him to keep while she rested.  
  
Jaina, come back, Jaina. Kyp followed her until she finally stopped in the room with the cages.  
  
Look at these, Kyp, she said, not looking back at him. She started forward, shivering as she passed through the field cast by a weak ysalamiri. Coming to the other side of the large room, she finally turned back to Kyp. Her eyes were sad, pitiful even, and made Kyp feel uncomfortable. He so wanted to comfort her, but did not know whether to treat her as an equal or a child. He had watched the young girl grow from an infant to a young woman. And, because of Keilana, he had watched her grow from carefree to cynical and mistrusting.  
  
Yeah, they're kind of essential to Keilana's trade, Jaina. What do you expect her to do about them?  
  
They're horrible, she said, ignoring what Kyp had just said. Living things have been trapped in these and I'm sure others have found their deaths here too. How can someone do something like this? What kind of a person would choose this as their profession?  
  
Jaina, calm down.  
  
No, Kyp, I won't calm down! She disgusts me. My stomach turns when I think about the things that she must have done to become who she says she is. What does she mean by being the best.  
  
Do you really want to know, Solo? A voice came from the shadows. Both Jedi started as Keilana stood up from her crouch on the far side of the room and walked out of the shadows that had concealed her. Do you honestly want to know the answer to your questions?  
  
Jaina didn't acknowledge her past a flicker of her eyes.  
  
I didn't choose to do this, Solo, I was forced into it. My father gave me a very limited education that consisted of how to fly, how to kill, how to live in the shadows, and how to capture prey alive. The question you should be asking is this: What kind of a parent would do that to their child? And then there is always the question of what kind of a person could hate another living being so much for a few mistakes so that they are completely blinded by their hate. That is the question you should be asking no one but yourself, Solo. Keilana poked Jaina hard in the middle of the chest before turning around and walking away. Muttering something to Kyp, Keilana headed towards the cockpit, the door closing and locking behind her.  
  
As soon as she left, Kyp turned his gaze to Jaina. He didn't approach her nor did he say a word to her. After a moment of studying the young woman, Kyp turned to leave as well. When he was gone, Jaina backed up against the nearest wall and slowly slid down until she was sitting on the floor, her knees tucked up against her chest. Bringing her face down in to her hands, Jaina sobbed once and shut her emotions off so that she disappeared into the shadows.


	7. Playing the Mas'

  
  
Playing the Mas'  
  
  
Keilana was jolted from her light sleep by the incessant blaring of alarms. And, while she knew exactly where she was, it took her a moment to get oriented and to calm the panic that shot through her body when she did not see Jax's cradle.  
  
"It's okay, ol' girl," she muttered to herself as she stood up and pulled on a short flight jacket. "Jax is safe on Coruscant, no need to panic…"  
  
Biting down on her lower lip, Keilana stepped from her room only to run into Jacen. He was passing her room on his way to the cockpit from the lounge. Starting and turning toward her, Jacen gave her a somewhat forced smile as well as a hand to help her regain her balance.  
  
"I assume we are about to drop?"  
  
"That's generally the reason for alarms near the end of a jump," she said, eyeing his expression.  
  
"Yes, of course," Jacen said, his words oddly clipped. Keilana, who had started down the hall towards the cockpit, paused and turned to look at the young man. Placing her hands on her hips, she studied him for a moment longer.  
  
"Have I done anything in particular to annoy you lately?"  
  
Jacen looked her in the eye before turning his vision to the wall.  
  
"Some of us—"  
  
"All of you?"  
  
"—feel as if we could have completed this mission without you coming along. Jaina's the forerunner in the campaign against you, but I have to agree with her in some aspects. Why did you want to come with us, Keilana? It can't purely be for training, I know you too well." Jacen's gaze locked on with Keilana's once again. She simply looked back at him, her face perfectly stoic.  
  
"Do you now?" She said as she rose her brow. "I've made a life of making sure people don't know who I am but apparently I've made a slip. Why did I want to come along, you ask? Because I know how to track him down…as well as for all of that training stuff."  
  
"Any of us could have done that on our own, Keilana."  
  
Keilana pressed her lips together and closed her arms over her chest. "Fine, any of you could have tracked him down. I guess you are Jedi after all."  
  
"I don't want to create an argument, Keilana."  
  
"When you start accusing me of sneaking around behind your back then it's going to become an argument."  
  
"I haven't accused you of anything."  
  
Keilana gave him a skeptical look and Jacen sighed.  
  
"Okay look, I just can't help but think that you might have ulterior motives with this mission and that they are centered around Trigen," Jacen said as he reached for something in his pocket. Pulling out his datapad, he pushed a button and handed it to Keilana. Her face fell momentarily. Jacen took no notice. "Especially since I found this circulating around the news. It seems to be a bit too much of a coincidence that there is a bounty on his head."  
  
Keilana looked from Jacen to the datapad and back again before dropping her hand.  
  
"Do Kyp and your sister know about this broadcast?"  
  
He shook his head. "Are you hunting him or not, Keilana?" He asked outright. "There's not much we can do about you coming along now that we've already started, but if you are hunting him then I have to request that you stop and simply help us gather the needed information. I'm sure Uncle Luke told you that this mission was to gather information _only_."  
  
"Yeah, he told me," Keilana said as she handed the small computer back to Jacen. "And that's all I intend to do, honestly. There is no profit for me in this—at least not credit-wise. I am simply here to learn from three trained Jedi and to help you find this guy you're searching for."  
  
Jacen watched Keilana for a moment. When he did not sense her lie, he shook his head and shrugged. "It's just a bit suspicious, that's all and, honestly, you aren't the most trustworthy person I've ever met."  
  
"I'm hurt," she said dryly. She then shrugged and leaned one shoulder against the wall as she crossed her arms again. "But then again you've got the right to be suspicious. After all, I did trick your entire little school into believing I was something that I wasn't."  
  
"Yeah, not a good thing to bring up at the moment, Keilana."  
  
"Right." Smiling, Keilana playfully nudged Jacen with her elbow. "Though, bringing up the fact that there is a bounty on this guy's head wasn't too smart either, kid." She pointed to herself, "Bounty hunter."  
  
Jacen rose his brow but smiled all the same as his cheeks flushed. "Well, I guess I'll just have keep an eye on you since I'm the one who brought him up." He laughed lightly and Keilana forced a smile. They stood there for a moment in silence before Keilana gestured over her shoulder.  
  
"I had better get to the cockpit if we expect a smooth transition. I'd rather not end up as space junk, you know what I mean?"  
  
"Right, sorry to hold you up."  
  
"No problem." Keilana smiled one last time before taking off at a relatively quick pace for the cockpit. She had less than a minute before the drop.  
  
Jaina and Kyp were already there when Keilana arrived. Upon seeing her, Jaina stood up quickly from the pilot's couch.  
  
"I just thought that—"  
  
"Get out of my way, Solo," Keilana said as she pushed her way around the young woman to strap herself in. "Well, sit down unless you all plan on becoming unneeded decorations on the wall. She doesn't like slowing down after a good run." Keilana patted the control panel affectionately before preparing to enter real space.  
  
Everybody complied to her request with a slight grimace at the further thought of traveling in an unstable craft.   
  
As soon as Jacen strapped into to his crashwebbing, Keilana gripped the levers and gently eased her ship out of hyperspace. The star streaks shortened and became individual points of lights once again as the ship rattled about before Keilana could settle into a slower speed.  
  
After a moment, a low-pitched alarm went off. Keilana shut it down without so much as blinking. Glancing at a display at her right hand, she noticed everyone looking at her.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What was that alarm for?"  
  
"Incoming ships. We've been sent a welcoming committee." Keilana tapped one of the screens with the tip of her finger. "Here they come."  
  
"Welcoming committee?" Kyp asked skeptically.  
  
"Yeah. Rather than using master planetary control, they use their navy to either escort you planet side or to chase you out of system. See, the Lyian's are a little, shall we say, sensitive to the rest of the galaxy. They don't trust 'em. They don't trust anybody, really."  
  
"You're saying that we just dropped into the laps of a bunch of xenophobes?" Kyp gave Keilana a doubtful look.   
  
"No, I'm saying that they are simply disgusted by the filth of the rest of the galaxy. The only decent planets we had to offer have either been destroyed or have fallen under corruption."  
  
"Which were…"  
  
"Well, Alderaan and Kuat mostly."  
  
"What kind of a culture have you brought us to?" Jaina asked harshly from behind Keilana.   
  
"One of the best and most stable in the galaxy, Solo. It's pretty much a cluster full of Alderaans. No one can carry concealed weapons without a permit, every planet, except for the ones designated for garbage disposal, are lush and clean. With the exception of the lowest class, everybody in this cluster could buy Kuatian silk like it was low-grade bantha wool, and they do. I think the Princess would like it here." Turning back to the controls, Keilana glanced at her display and missed the look of absolute disgust Jaina had directed toward her. However, Keilana's mind was elsewhere. "Interesting."  
  
"What is?" One of the men asked.  
  
Keilana tapped the radar on which four purple points were converging. "They've sent Phantoms after us."  
  
"Phantoms?" Jaina asked. It was more of a skeptical statement than a question.  
  
"Starfighters," Keilana said. "They're very advanced and hard to pilot. Only the best get to fly them and there is only one squadron's worth of ships in existence. In fact, there's one now." Keilana pointed a ship that had come within view of those in the cockpit. Jacen jumped at its sudden appearance and Kyp and Jaina gasped; it looked like a highly modified clawcraft. The fighter had three sets of two forward sweeping arms, each tipped with highly advanced lasercannons. A forcefield flickered around the ship making it appear as if it were in a sort of bubble and the octangular viewport was tinted as well as slightly mirrored. With the matte black painting job, the craft looked sleek (despite its rounded body) and absolutely deadly. "The Lye Cluster was a big supporter of the Empire and that they've been modifying their technology since the days of Thrawn. Those ships are incredible."  
  
"What makes them so incredible?" Jaina said, her eyes on the ship. Keilana simply pointed as another ship materialized out of the blackness of space just inside their peripheral vision. The young woman's jaw nearly dropped. "They're cloaked."  
  
"But incredibly easy to spot with the right equipment. They're classified as Shadow Fighters," Keilana said as she answered the hail beeping in her earpiece. No one in the cockpit bothered to ask how Keilana knew so much about these ships; they were more concerned about being surrounded by old xenophobic Imperials with cloaked starfighters.  
  
"Eidolon Leader to_ Lady Heyday_, please state your destination and business in this sector," a female voice crackled over the comm. Keilana didn't bother to removed her headpiece. She only pressed the mic closer to her lips.  
  
"I am on my way to the capital city, Eidolon Leader," Keilana replied. "I'm visiting my cousin. You might have heard of him; he is Senator Winton Fuero Dallon Garcias Cer'liza of the Second House of the Kian from Guttina."  
  
"What?" Kyp hissed under his breath. Keilana waved him away and scowled.   
  
"I have had no word of your visit, Captain," the squadron leader said. Pursing her lips, Keilana frowned. "Give me your name and I will forward it to his office."  
  
"This is Captain Leena Mai Jullian Cer'sisa, Eidolon Leader." The comm clicked off just as Keilana finished speaking. Sighing, she sat back in her chair and looked at the three Jedi. They all looked concerned and a little upset.  
  
"What are you thinking? A senator?" Jaina asked after a moment. "They'll never buy that one."  
  
"It's more plausible than you may think, Solo. He owes me some favors and I'll be damned if I don't collect on them while I'm in system."  
  
"How exactly did you get favors from a senator?" Kyp leaned toward Keilana as he studied one of the starfighters outside.  
  
Keilana gave him a smile before continuing. "It's been going on for years now ever since a quick cover-up on my part of a highly illegal operation he was running at the time. Since then we've constantly been in each other's debt and it just so happens that he is in mine at the moment. Besides, his planet is the one that turns out some of the best intelligence agents in the galaxy and he is in charge of every single one of them. Why wouldn't I align myself with him in my line of work?"  
  
"But a senator?" Kyp asked as if he still couldn't get over that fact. Keilana blew an annoyed sigh.  
  
"He hasn't always been a Senator and, really, he's more like a Moff for an individual planet but with a better title and without absolute martial law," she said as the squadron leader hailed her. Kyp muttered something to the effect of, "Great."  
  
"It looks as if you are clear to go, Captain. Proceed to the capital at oh-seven-three-point-five-two-one to sector seven. Your landing dock is number twenty-three-bee in front of the Senator's palace. We will escort you to atmosphere. Eidolon Leader out."  
  
As soon as their line was terminated, Keilana turned to the Jedi with a smug grin.  
  
"See?" And without further explanation, Keilana turned back to the controls to follow two of the fighters to the planet Lye. As promised, the four vehicles turned away without so much as a word once _Scrimshaw_ entered the planet's atmosphere.   
  
Proceeding along the path she was given, Keilana landed on a platform behind a grand palace with a bit of a jostle. Once again, the stabilizers were acting up. Leaning forward as soon as they touched down, Jacen stared at the building outside the cockpit in wonder. It was tall and spectacularly white with towers and short spires creating the front facade. Several large courtyards broke up the main house into different sections, each for its own purpose. The grounds surrounding the palace were just as grand as (if not more than) the building. Hedge mazes and gardens of colourful, fragrant flowers were well kept and seemed to go on endlessly in every direction. The platform on which they landed was situated in a series of platforms surrounded by vast grass lawns of green; grand paths and decorations making them appear much more decorative than functional. Only Keilana did not seem impressed.  
  
While the two men gaped at the grandiosity, Jaina noticed that three men from the palace were already on their way to the landing platform. However, they were a distance off as if they had not left very long ago.  
  
"Is that where we're going?" Jacen asked, not noticing the men right away.  
  
"That would be it. However, Jacen, you're staying with the ship. Kyp and Solo, you're coming with me."  
  
"What? Excuse me?" Jaina asked after Keilana as she got tangled up in her crashwebbing. Once she was able to pull it over her head, she followed the hallway to where Keilana was rooting through a hidden compartment in the floor. "Why do I have to come with you?"  
  
"Because I don't trust you being on my ship and I know you'll be quiet due to the commonsense I assume you have." Reaching into the compartment and pulling out a roll of medical cloth, Keilana looked back up at her. "Besides, this way I can keep an eye on you."  
  
"Right." Jaina said, crossing her arms. "What's that for?"  
  
"You. Wrap up the lower half of your face so that your mouth and nose are covered—don't worry, you'll be able to breath—after that, put this cloak on and pull the hood down over your face." Handing both the robe and the roll of cloth to Jaina, Keilana stood up and wiped her hands together. Looking at Kyp as he came around the corner, she tossed him a length of fine silk from the stash and a robe of dark red. He caught them and, with no questions asked, replaced his Jedi robes with the ones given and tied his hair back. Jaina, on the other hand, simply looked at the medical cloth as Keilana sealed the compartment.  
  
"Why?" She asked.  
  
"Because you are too recognizable and the last thing I need is for the Senator to know that I am dragging around a Solo brat. Now hurry up. Oh, and if you find time, wrap up your wrists and palms in makeshift gloves as well." Winking at Jaina, Keilana went to the hatch to greet the welcoming party, Kyp on her heel. Jacen had already disappeared from sight.  
  
Keilana had the hatch open and was on solid ground before the party had stepped onto the landing pad. Leaning over to Kyp, she whispered something to him as she quickly braided her hair up and out of her face. He noticed that she had, at some point, applied make-up, her lips red, and that the clothes she was wearing were made of a cloth far better than her normal clothing, despite their appearance. This was obviously a planet that she was quite familiar with. Her boots were impeccable and reflected light like a mirror; the metal of her blaster was the only thing dull in her appearance. There were no wrinkles in her pants and no stains on her shirt, her face was clean as were her hands. Any indication that she was anything less than the daughter of a nobleman had disappeared into the disguise. He was rather impressed.   
  
By the time the greeting party came to the edge of the platform, Jaina was disguised, her face hidden in shadow, as well as standing behind the two adults. When she tried to stand next to Keilana, she was pushed back behind Kyp while Keilana stepped out in front of the others.   
  
"Good," Keilana said, glancing back at them. "Now don't speak, either of you." Keilana turned back to the three men that had come to welcome them.  
  
"Captain Leena Mai, it is a pleasure to see you again," the man leading the other two said. He took Keilana's hand and brushed his lips over her knuckles. "We didn't expect your visit."  
  
"I was in the area visiting with my some of my father's business partners," Keilana said, the accent so like her father's gone and replaced with a speech befit of royalty. "I figured that I should stop by for a visit with family before heading back home," she said with a brilliant smile. Turning slightly at the waist and gesturing towards Kyp, she continued. "This is my consort."  
  
"Consort? We have not had word of your marriage, Captain, my congratulations," the man in front of the others said with a genuine smile. "The Senator will be pleased to hear that you have finally settled down."  
  
"Oh, I'm not domesticated that quickly, Representative, but I have started the long journey." She laughed lightly and no one caught Jaina as she rolled her eyes. Smiling widely, Keilana gestured toward the palace. "Shall we continue on to the palace? I'm sure my cousin is quite busy and I wouldn't want to interrupt him for too long."  
  
"Yes, yes, of course, Captain," the man said, nodding towards the palace. "The Senator is very pleased that you have decided to visit. The Yuuzhan Vong threat has been wearing on him. Guttina is on the edge of our sector, as I'm sure you know, and with the enemy coming closer every day, he is doing everything in his power to conceal us."  
  
"Is he now? I hadn't heard the Cluster was concerned about the threat."  
  
"Oh, very," the man said as they approached the palace. "But most people within our society and out do not know of the King's concerns. Only government officials and those of the First and Second Houses have been told of the incredible threat we are facing—as well as you, obviously. Anyway, we have no need to panic the commoners." He said this with a smile as the grand doors of the palace opened for them. "The Senator will be in his office, Captain," he continued. Holding up his hand and snapping once, a young woman appeared at his side. "Catalaina will show you to him. Good day, Leena Mai."  
  
"And good day to you, Representative." Smiling at the man from over her shoulder, Keilana elevated her chin slightly and walked after the serving girl. Kyp and Jaina followed closely behind her.  
  
It took no time at all for them to be brought to the Senator's offices. Once escorted inside, the serving girl left, leaving Kyp, Jaina, and Keilana in a large room by themselves. However, it did not take long for company to arrive. The senator (who was much younger than either of the Jedi thought he would be) stepped out from a door behind them and to the right. A large smile crossed his lips as the three turned around.   
  
"Keilana," he said, leaning against the doorjamb. Keilana gave a smile to rival his as she crossed the floor to him, drawing up very close.  
  
"Winton," she said softly before raising to her full height and planting a quick but solid kiss just to the left of his lips. Stepping back and smiling, Keilana glanced around the room, momentarily forgetting about the two Jedi. "You've relocated your office to the old wing? You've been rearranging since my last visit."  
  
The Senator nodded as he gestured lazily with his hand. "Seva wished to live in the Eastern wing," he said simply.  
  
"I see," Keilana responded. The two Jedi were completely at a loss. They could not read Keilana and, surprisingly, they could not read the young Senator either. "And, how has that been working out for you?"  
  
"Very well, as you can see," Winton said, his smile growing. Stepping away from Keilana, he moved to the window behind a large wooden desk. His dark brown hair caught the light of the sun to shine brilliantly as his eyes glowed an almost unnatural amber. "And I see that you have brought some friends. Who are they?"  
  
"Associates, Winton," Keilana said, her image of nobility melting back into that of a well dressed bounty hunter.  
  
"I see." Studying the view from the window for a moment longer, Winton turned slowly towards Keilana, the expression on his face different. It was still pleasant, but there was a certain harshness there that the Jedi were instantly wary of. "And what brings you to my home, Keilana? I know that it is not for simple pleasure, otherwise you would not have brought your…" he studied the Jedi for a moment "…associates."   
  
Keilana gave him a hard smile.  
  
"I'm here to collect on at least one of the favors you owe me, Winton, and I know that you can help me out."  
  
"My, my, confident aren't we?"  
  
"Yes, and in a hurry. I don't have much time and I know you have the information that I need."  
  
"Yes, of course, information. What else would you be here for? You never come to stay for the weekend anymore, Keilana."  
  
"It is a bit of a trip just to get out here, Winton," she hissed, glancing at the Jedi. "Especially from the Core."  
  
"Oh, living fancy, are we? Find a way into the high life?"  
  
"No, trying to keep my head attached to my neck, is all. I'm sure you've heard of the mishap."  
  
"Yes, news travels fast," Winton said as he sat down. Propping his feet up on top of the desk in front of him, he turned slightly to peer at Jaina from around Keilana. His eyes snapped to the bounty hunter for a moment before moving back to watch the younger, hooded woman. Jaina shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "And what sort of information do you need out of me?"  
  
"Is it safe to discuss it here?" Keilana asked, looking around the room.  
  
"In my private office? Most certainly. Unless, of course…" He trailed off as a door closed a few rooms down. Winton started slightly and stood up, straightening out his fine clothes. "Unless, of course, my fiancée decides to show up. You picked a most convenient time to come, Keilana. Seva's parents are throwing a ball tonight in celebration of our upcoming marriage. You have met her mother, am I correct?"  
  
"Most unfortunately, yes. And in far better conditions it might have been pleasant. I sure hope you don't expect us to attend. That woman can spot me from across a packed ballroom, I'm sure of it."  
  
"Yes, I'm sure she would be able to. Is that why you've been avoiding us? Well, at any rate, if Seva sees you, you'll be invited. She is rather excited about it after all and would invite a beggar if she happened across one." Smiling, Winton moved from where he stood to greet the woman who came through the door a moment later.   
  
---  
  
Kyp's eyes widened. He had expected a woman of some beauty to come through the door, but certainly not a woman who could have silenced an entire auditorium full of people with her appearance and presence alone. This woman was gorgeous and her clothes expressed incredible wealth and power. Slightly curled, long dark hair framed a softly angular face of flawless porcelain skin that held eyes the colour of cobalt. Her ruby lips were set in a soft smile at the sight of her fiancé coming towards her.  
  
Winton crossed the floor to put a hand on the woman's waist and to plant a kiss on her cheek. She took it with a smile, her eyes darting to the Jedi and finally to Keilana. At the sight of the latter, she frowned.  
  
"What is your cousin doing here, Winton?" She asked slowly, the timbre of her voice raising. Keilana's brow furrowed slightly. She was annoyed, that much was clear.  
  
"I am here for a visit."  
  
"…your Grace," the other woman said with a heavy frown. "I have asked you time and again to address me as 'your Grace'."  
  
"Sorry, your Grace, it has been a long time since my last visit. To be honest, I didn't expect you see you."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because you were awfully busy the last time I was here." Keilana's voice was calm and without real emotion. "I know that you are training to take over your mother's position in your government, and that it takes a lot of time and patience on your part. Being the king's Head Adviser is trying, isn't it…your Grace?"  
  
The woman lifted her chin in annoyance. "Yes, it is."  
  
Keilana gave her an emotionless smile before turning away from Winton and the woman. Walking towards the Jedi, her hands clasped behind her back, she stood very close to Kyp and pushed Jaina back out of sight.   
  
"I see you brought some people with you," the woman said, glancing at the Jedi again, her gaze lingering slightly on Kyp. "Who are they?"  
  
"You are very observant, your Grace, have I ever told you that?" Keilana's voice was slightly condescending and Kyp found himself smiling internally.  
  
"Who are they?" The woman repeated.  
  
"My consort and our servant," Keilana said.  
  
"Consort? You certainly aren't the kind of person that I ever imagined getting married."  
  
"Oh, you don't have to convince me of that, your Grace." Keilana smiled and rose her brow slightly. The woman's face puffed up in anger as she turned from the three visitors to speak quietly with Winton for a moment in their harsh native tongue . Kyp rose his brow and leaned forward to speak in Keilana's ear.  
  
"Who is she?"  
  
"The daughter of the king's Head Advisor and the Prime Minister," Keilana said, turning slightly to meet Kyp's gaze. "She's very powerful."  
  
"I can tell," Kyp said. He straightened up as the woman turned back to them. Smiling, she stepped towards the group and Kyp in particular.  
  
"I am sorry," she said, her voice no longer the harsh tone she had used with Keilana. In fact, it appeared as if she was, for the most part, ignoring the other woman. The Senator, Kyp decided, must have said something to make her calm down and be far more civil. "I should have introduced myself to your husband."  
  
Kyp quirked his brow (though only slightly) at the woman's abrupt change in attitude. He did not like it.  
  
"That really isn't necessary, your Grace," Keilana said with a forced smile.  
  
"Oh, I believe it is. After all, you two are invited to the little party tonight since you're here. I may not like you, Leena Mai, but you are Winton's cousin and that is close enough to family to be invited." She had said all of this to Kyp, her gaze never wavering from his. She was close enough to the Jedi for him to smell her floral perfume and pick out the miniscule jewels that adorned her heavy hair. Keilana snorted and the woman smiled. "My name is Seva Caiterina Rai'en Rasputin Se'Czaria, daughter to Lord Severus Rai'en Aidale Nytel Se'Czaria of the Second House of the Katana of the planet Lye. And you are?"  
  
Kyp blinked as he was slightly astonished at the introduction before glancing over Seva's head to Keilana. Seva followed his gaze and frowned.  
  
"You don't need your wife's permission to speak, do you? Come now, be your own man."  
  
"He is," Keilana said. "You obviously have a lot to learn about Kuatian society, your Grace. He's a telbun—a breeder." Keilana's expression was bland.  
  
"Excuse me?" Seva asked, turning to Keilana. The bounty hunter gave a martyred sigh and closed her arms over her chest.  
  
"He was raised and trained to ensure that woman of noble blood could mix their genes with the best available to create a new generation. He's a stud, if you want to use breeding terms. We were only married because of certain family beliefs." As she said this, Keilana started to inspect her nails. "Go ahead, love, tell her your name."  
  
"Yes," Seva said to Kyp. "Please."  
  
Kyp hesitated a moment longer.  
  
"Caelen," he said rather lamely. Jaina smothered a snicker with her hand and it was obvious at a glance that even Keilana was struggling to keep her face perfectly stoic.  
  
"Ooh," Seva said, her lips puckered slightly and curved in a smile. She, at least, seemed to believe him. "So you can speak for yourself."  
  
"Yes, your Grace," Kyp said, his eyes flickering to Keilana and the Senator. Keilana smiled and Winton looked highly annoyed at how his fiancée was acting towards Kyp. The frown on his face was impressive. After a moment, Winton stepped forward and placed a hand on his fiancée's waist.  
  
"Come, dear, I'm sure you have a lot to do before the ball." He took her wrist in his hand and gently pulled her away from Kyp. Kyp gave a sigh of relief that caused Keilana to grin behind her hand and Jaina to snicker out loud. Seva did not notice either of the other women as she turned to her husband-to-be.  
  
"Yes, now that you mention it, I do have a lot to see to." She cleared her throat and straightened out the magnificent cloth she was draped in. "The florist is in the ballroom as we speak and I must go check up with him. I expect we will meet again at the party, Captain, Caelen."  
  
Nodding to Keilana and Kyp, she turned from the group and exited the way she had come in. Once she was out the door, Keilana turned to Winton.  
  
"I believe you have some information for me?"  
  
"That I do," Winton said, repositioning himself behind his desk. Gesturing to the other three, he smiled. "Please, have a seat."  
  
---  
  
Keilana walked around the room, running the tips of her fingers over the fancy cloth that adorned almost everything in a just-slightly-less-than-gaudy way. She looked back at Kyp, who was sitting on the bed, and Jaina, who had stayed near the door. Without having said a word to each other or having searched the nicks, corners, and crannies, they all knew the room was bugged. So, nodding, Keilana walked over to Kyp and leaned forward.  
  
"What are we going to do, Keilana?" Kyp asked. Before she answered, Keilana glanced at Jaina and flipped her hand in the girl's direction, dismissing her. Jaina just managed to keep an indignant look off her face before stepping into the next room.   
  
"Play the part in case anyone is watching, which I'm sure they are going to be. Supposed cousin or not, nobody really trusts me around here. They keep their eye on me just to make sure I don't cause too much trouble. I have a bit of a…reputation."  
  
"Reputation?" He asked, his voice almost raising above a whisper. Keilana put her finger on her lips and nodded before Kyp could go on, which he obviously wanted to do.  
  
"Yeah, a reputation as in things tend to go badly whenever I'm around. You know, someone disappears, others get caught in crossfire, general chaos, and mass confusion. I have a lot of enemies, even in obscure little systems such as this one."  
  
"Right." Kyp hadn't noticed until right then that they were incredibly close. Keilana had her hands on either side of him on the bed with her lips almost brushing his ear. He pulled back a bit but Keilana caught the back of his head. "And what exactly does playing the part entail, Keilana?"  
  
"Almost everything except for the obvious."  
  
"Obvious? I'd say it isn't too obvious and…ooo, right." Kyp had jumped slightly when Keilana grabbed his knee to prove her point. "Okay, but do we have to—"  
  
"Share? Of course, flyboy."  
  
"And Jaina?"  
  
"She'll be in the servant's quarters attached to these unless I send her back to the ship, which I would rather not do." Keilana smiled at Kyp before straightening up and walking away. She looked at him over her shoulder before stepping up to a window and gazing out. After a moment, Kyp sighed and stood up to join her. Keilana smiled and turned slightly to watch him approach her.  
  
"I'm no more comfortable with this than you are, Kyp, nor did I exactly plan on this happening."  
  
"Our timing was a little off, that's for sure," Kyp whispered, drawing up closer than comfortable so that they could speak in hushed tones.  
  
"You're not acting very much like a telbun, Kyp," Keilana chided softly with a chuckle.  
  
"Oh, and how would you know this?"  
  
Keilana simply answered with a knowing smile before turning to him fully.   
  
"Stop acting suspicious."  
  
"Me?" He asked with a laugh. "You're the one who started the hushed tones and closeness."  
  
"Well excuse me for attempting to clarify some things for you. Obviously you don't need any help." Despite her words, there was a wide smile on Keilana's lips and in her eyes. "Besides, I don't plan on staying long enough to use that bed. The sooner we can get out of here the better."  
  
"Then why stay for the party?"  
  
"Because Seva is already suspicious that I am more than Winton's cousin and I don't need for her to start guessing at what I might actually be. It is courtesy in this culture to accept an invitation to a party when it is directly asked of you to attend. So, we are going." Jabbing Kyp with her finger and stepping around him, she went into the next room to find Jaina. Kyp simply rubbed his shoulder and stepped towards the window to take in the magnificent view of the seemingly endless countryside.  
  
In the next room, Keilana found Jaina standing next to another window; her eyes were not really focusing on anything and her hood was down. Keilana cleared her throat as one summoning a lower being and Jaina turned to give her a deadly glare before remembering where they were. Walking over to Keilana (who's face held an odd smirk), she stood in front of her a respectful distance and nodded. A wave of great annoyance and displeasure washed through the apartment.  
  
"Yes?" Jaina asked, her voice conveying quite the opposite feeling than that on her mind.   
  
"Head back to the ship but not before finding the kitchen. We need our food supply replenished."  
  
Jaina was just about to tell Keilana that they had enough food before picking up on the older woman's unspoken words. In short, Jaina was to familiarize herself with the palace just in case something went wrong. Jaina's annoyance rose at the fact that she was now able to pick up on subliminal messages from the woman she disliked so much.  
  
Simply nodding, Jaina ducked quickly out of the apartment space. Once she was gone, Keilana turned back to the bedroom and smiled at Kyp.  
  
"Shall we get ready for the party, my dear?"  
  
---  
  
Jacen hadn't found much to occupy himself with on the ship. He had tried to play a few games against the computer but found it a less than adequate gaming partner. Once done with that attempt, he had wandered throughout the ship until he could practically navigate it with his eyes closed. Next had come the care of the sickly ysalamiri Keilana owned which quickly led to a check of the ships systems, which proved difficult as Keilana had everything locked down with codes and passwords. Frustrated with his incredible boredom, Jacen had chosen to do the one thing he knew he could do: sleep.   
  
However, Jacen had barely put his head down when the ship's alarms went off. Jumping up from the couch and sprinting for the cockpit, Jacen was just able to disarm the automatic weapons system before whoever it was that had approached the ship became nothing more than a stain on the landing pad. And it was a good thing he had found the code to override the weapons, too, for when he glanced at the screen that fed him external information, he was met with the image of an incredibly annoyed Jaina. Glancing at her wrist chrono and crossing her arms, Jaina started to tap her foot and look around. Jacen swore under his breath and moved to the hatch to let her in.  
  
"Thanks," she said shortly as she walked up the ramp. "The last thing I needed for the full spectrum of experiences on this trip was to be nearly blown out of existence by Keilana's ship."  
  
"I can guarantee you that that will be one of the better experiences you have by the time we get home," Jacen said as he locked the ship back up. He looked at Jaina with tired eyes. "The moment she was assigned to this mission I was ready to burn any of the plans we had made."  
  
Jaina smiled slightly as she followed Jacen to the lounge.  
  
"What happened to the Jacen from a year ago? You know, the one who trusted Keilana and even liked her?"  
  
"He lost a lot of faith in people," Jacen answered as he poured himself some caf. When he offered some to Jaina, she shook her head and sat down on the couch. "Keilana played one over on us and I lost my ability to trust people like I used to."  
  
Jaina nodded. "Good, you shouldn't trust her."  
  
"Well, we sort of have to now, Jaina," Jacen said as he joined her on the couch. "Our success on this mission greatly depends on her."  
  
"What a pleasant thought," Jaina said dryly. "Do you know what she's doing this exact moment? She's playing aristocrat. That's right. She has this entire cluster convinced that she is the daughter of some wealthy Kuati business man and that Kyp is her faithful telbun. She is also attending a big party tonight with Kyp at her side as if to strengthen the lie and burrow it so deep into the skins of these people that they will never be able to think of her in any other way."  
  
Jacen snorted and nearly choked on the caf he had been attempting to drink.  
  
"She…what?"  
  
Jaina nodded and made a sound of confirmation. "The web she's woven is still growing strong."  
  
"How many lives and aliases can she possibly have?"  
  
"I don't think we will ever know, brother."  
  
The twins were silent for a long while after that. Neither moved from their spot nor did they look at each other, strictly speaking. It was not until Jacen finished drinking his caf did he say something to Jaina.  
  
"Keilana must be an incredibly intelligent person," he said without any preamble. Jaina sort of sputtered as she shot him a dark look.  
  
"What?" She said dangerously. She did not like anybody saying anything positive about Keilana even if she knew it to be true.   
  
"Just think, Jaina. I don't know if I like it any more than you, but it's true. She has this amazing ability to create stories and lives for herself and people believe her. She's good enough to convince an entire school of Jedi who she wasn't and here she has an entire civilization convinced that she is the cousin of a powerful senator. She's as much a very talented con artist as she is a bounty hunter and, Jaina, she has charisma. People want to believe her and they want to like her and she is smart enough to be able to twist them to believe just about anything and use that trust to her advantage."  
  
Jaina pursed her lips and looked at her twin. "Which raises the question: Who is she really?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"She could still be lying to us, Jacen. How do we know 'Keilana' is even her real name? How do we know that she really is who she says she is? You have to admit she still has many suspicious qualities, Jacen."  
  
"I doubt we will ever know her completely, Jaina."  
  
"Which makes me even more nervous about her and like her less," Jaina said, leaning towards her twin. "She could be anything and anyone. I've tried and I can't place her physical features to any one race of human or humanoid and I cannot for the life of me place that language of hers or her accent, slight as it is."  
  
Jacen rose his brow at these words. "You've actually done research on her, Jaina? Isn't that, oh say, slightly obsessive?"  
  
"I don't want her around, Jacen, and if I can uncover anything that would convince Uncle Luke to kick her out of the Academy and place her in very strict confinement, then I will give it to him straight away."  
  
"You do know that you won't, right?"  
  
"Thanks for the encouragement, Jacen." Jaina sighed in frustration and leaned heavily against the back of the couch. She blew a martyred sigh before closing her eyes. "But amidst all of my failure, I have had one small victory."  
  
"How do you define victory?"  
  
"I found this," Jaina said. She sat up and handed Jacen a once-crumpled, now-folded piece of flimsy. Jacen opened it and furrowed his brow at the words written on it.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I think it's a song or poem since it is split up into stanzas and choruses, but I don't recognize the language."  
  
"Well, if you are looking for help here, there isn't any," Jacen said, tilting his head to the side as if the new angle would help him.  
  
"Thanks, but that's not what I was going for. No, if you read the words as we would pronounce them in Basic it vaguely sounds like that language Keilana speaks, though much slower. If I can decode that language and figure out what it is then we've struck gold, Jacen."  
  
"No, you've struck gold, Jaina," Jacen said as he handed the piece of paper back to his twin. "I personally don't care at the moment."  
  
"You don't…care?"  
  
"No, nor should you. Don't make this out as if it is your duty to the Academy and the rest of galaxy to uncover the truth." Jacen stood up and looked down at his sister. "It's not."  
  
"I never said it was!"  
  
"Yes you did, just not in those words."  
  
Jaina opened her mouth to say something but the words did not come. She was simply too angry. Screwing up her face, Jaina stood up, clutched her fists together and glared laser bolts at her brother.  
  
"I have to get back to the palace before my absence is missed. But since I am playing the part of a _lowly_ servant, I doubt I was even noticed before or after my excuse for an introduction."  
  
"Oh, you will be missed, Jaina," Jacen said as he turned to the caf dispenser. "You will be missed just as much as you were noticed and that is a great deal more than you know."  
  
"Once again, thanks for the encouraging thoughts, Jacen."  
  
"Anytime, Jaina," Jacen said with a smile. Jaina simply gave an exasperated sigh as she left the lounge to head back to the palace.  
  
After Jaina left, Jacen put down his mug and leaned forward on the counter. Dropping his head and letting his dark hair fall into his eyes, he sighed heavily. Jaina was becoming a burden. Her anger was too strong and her hate for Keilana was too great. Jacen was worried. Frowning, Jacen straightened up and moved through the ship to the cockpit. Sitting down in the pilot's couch, he leaned forward to flip a few switches. The communications system turned on with a distinctive mechanical sound as the lights slowly lit up. Once it was fully warmed up (which took next to no time) Jacen punched in a code to a small keypad to make sure his transmission was encoded and impossible to intercept.  
  
With a sigh, Jacen turned on the holoprojector and a tiny Luke Skywalker appeared on the console in front of him. The Jedi Master looked surprised and then concerned.  
  
"Is something wrong, Jacen?"  
  
Jacen was silent for a moment before nodding slowly. "I'm worried about Jaina, Uncle."  
  
---  
  
Keilana had left the room she was given upon the request of Seva and Winton. She needed a dress and one of the servants was to find one that fit her from the vast collection the palace had to offer. Kyp had been called off to do the same in a different section of the palace leaving their room empty. Neither were worried for they had not removed one item of clothing or equipment from their person.  
  
She was about an hour into the process of trying on dresses when Seva showed up with an older woman. Snapping, Seva barked something to the servants in her hard-edged language. Keilana turned at the voice and her eyes widened. They were not focused on the young woman she had spoken to earlier that day, however, but on the woman standing next to her. Where most people would be in awe to be standing in the presence of the Lyian Head Adviser (one Malia Kay Vaughn K'inan Rasputin), Keilana grew very nervous. Looking around and down at the short, tight dress she had just been manhandled into, she swore to herself at the very limited space for escape. This was not a woman she never wanted to face again and the quicker she could slip away unnoticed the better. Attempting to shrink out of sight before the steel-haired woman could spot her, but keeping her eyes trained on the Head Advisor all the same, Keilana did not see the short stool behind her.   
  
At the sharp curse yelped by Keilana as she tripped backwards over the stool, the Head Advisor turned that way, a disapproving scowl on her face. She looked at Keilana, who's face was curtained by her hair and was about to tell her to stand up and greet her properly. However, when Keilana regained herself and stood up, her hair falling away from her face, the woman's eyes widened almost impossibly.  
  
"I know your face," the woman said with a highly accented voice. "Come here."  
  
Keilana pushed her tangled hair behind her ears before straightening both her back and her dress.  
  
"Of course, your Grace," Keilana said, her tone even and smooth. Seva stood to the side and watched both of the women before her, not quite sure what was happening.  
  
"Mother," Seva said under her breath. "Surely you are mistaken about who this is. She is nobody but Winton's cousin from Kuat."  
  
"I know exactly who she is, Seva. Don't interrupt."  
  
Seva nodded and stepped away from her mother just as Keilana stepped up.  
  
"My daughter tells me that you are a cousin of Winton's. I didn't know his parent's had any siblings. They certainly weren't mentioned when we attended school together."  
  
Keilana's lips tightened.  
  
"It's rather funny how little things such as siblings are forgotten in everyday conversation, your Grace," Keilana said, not really putting on much of an act. She knew the woman knew who she was and it was only a matter of time before she decided to act on that knowledge.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure," the Advisor said, holding out her left hand as was custom in the Lyian culture. "I don't think we were ever properly introduced."  
  
Keilana saw the trap. She could not do a thing about it, but at least she saw it. With a slightly sinking heart and a silent apology to Winton, Keilana put out her hand with a sigh.  
  
"Captain Leena Mai Jullian Cer'sisa, your Grace," Keilana said.  
  
The Advisor smiled for a moment before gripping Keilana's hand and wrenching it painfully around to peer at the young woman's left forearm. Almost completely hidden under a long, crisscrossed scar, the letter 'H' had been branded into her skin. Keilana winced as her elbow was twisted painfully into her side.  
  
Behind her mother, Seva gasped and covered her mouth. The older woman dropped Keilana's arm and allowed a smile to spread across her face.  
  
"I knew I recognized you, Hunter," she said. "What are you doing in this palace?"  
  
"Nothing that concerns you," Keilana said as she rubbed her elbow, attempting to lessen the pain. She was sure it had been sprained.  
  
"Everything that happens in this palace concerns me. A senator resides here and he is the man I am about to wed my daughter to. I've caught you once with him already and I never imagined you to be stupid enough as to return and con your way back into our lives. What are you doing here, girl?" She hissed. However, the woman did not give Keilana a chance to respond before yelling, "Guards!"  
  
That was all the provocation Keilana needed. Darting back to the frightened servant, she pulled a pair of scissors out of the woman's hand and cut two long slits down the front of the dress she was wearing. Then, whipping her hand around quickly, the scissors caught one of the guards in the stomach. He doubled over, unable to fight, and fell to the ground. Tears forming in her eyes at the incredible pain in her elbow, which was only jarred further out of place, Keilana ran forward at the three remaining men. The first one she managed to trip after ducking under the wide slash he made at her with his knife (these people didn't use a blaster unless it was absolutely necessary). Forcing the knife out of his grip after he made another attempt to cut open her stomach, she hit him over the head with its bone hilt, rendering him unconscious. She stood up just in time to leap backwards and knock the blade of another knife away from her stomach. Landing on her feet and standing at ready, Keilana watched the young man before her, sizing him up. He had the build of a fighter which made Keilana smile. It had been a long time since she had had a reasonable opponent.  
  
He stepped forward first and stabbed his knife towards her stomach. Knocking his blade out of the way with her own, Keilana continued into a spin and came around in a kick aimed at his hand. However, he was quicker and managed to catch her foot in his other hand, not ready for the fight to be over quite yet. Pulling his hand back, he caught Keilana off balance and dropped her foot to let her fall. Before she hit the ground, Keilana spun around and caught herself in a long crouch.   
  
Standing up before the man could follow her with his knife, Keilana turned and threw a punch to his face in his moment of hesitation and followed with a right hook to his solar plexus. He managed to dodge the first swing but ended up getting caught the second time around. He leaned forward to soften the blow giving Keilana the chance to pull the knife out of his hand and send it across the room via the Force, followed closely by the knife she had taken from the other guard. Wrapping her leg around one of his, Keilana pulled him off balance and followed him down as he caught her waist. It took a moment for them to untangle themselves from each other and it was the man who recovered first. Throwing his weight and flipping them around, he straddled Keilana and reached for the dagger sheathed on his belt to finish the fight. She managed to catch his wrist and hand before the long blade came too close to her throat. Bearing her teeth and twisting his wrist and arm with all her might, Keilana managed to throw him off of her as well as—judging by both his screams and a loud _crack!_—break his elbow. She jumped up and approached the kneeling man only to kick him in the side of the head. The man crumpled to the floor, still, but breathing.  
  
As the man slumped forward, Keilana bent to pull his blaster from its holster. She straightened up and shot the final man coming towards her once in each shoulder, rendering him useless for the time being but not permanently damaged.  
  
With the guards out of her way, Keilana spun around to Seva and her mother, leveling the blaster at them with no intent to shoot.  
  
"You've found me out, Advisor, my congratulations. For your booby prize I've spared the lives of these good men and I will spare yours too if you promise to wait before spreading the alarm." She doubted these terms would be followed, but Keilana wasn't all too concerned about that. She could fight off what they sent at her and once she managed to find Kyp, the pair of them would be able to get out of anything…or, at least, that's what she made herself believe.  
  
Watching the women, Keilana kicked the shot guard in the side of the head just hard enough to knock him into unconsciousness. Her eyes still trained on the women, Keilana moved across the room to gather her things. She strapped the belt around her waist, the holster around her thigh, and shoved her clothing into a small parcel which she threw over her back and attached across her chest. Pulling her boots on and managing to keep the blaster trained on the women, Keilana straightened and picked up the knife she had thrown to the floor as well as calling the guard's dagger to her. She stuck these between her belt and her person and started to back out of the room.  
  
"I hope you have a good party, Seva Caiterina, and my apologies for creating such a mess of things," she said as she backed out of the room, the blaster trained on the two women.  
  
Once outside, Keilana shot the communications panel and jammed the door with several long and heavy objects. Her elbow was throbbing painfully and blood was pounding in her ears as Keilana turned to sprint down the hall. This only made her dizzier than she already was and it was not until then that noticed the long, jagged cut that ran down her arm. She wasn't sure exactly how she had gained it but for the moment it didn't matter. She had to find Kyp and find him fast.   
  
Keilana encountered few people as she headed towards the opposite side of the palace. Those who attempted to stop her received a stunbolt and nothing more.   
  
It did not take her a terribly long time to find Kyp. When she burst through the double doors to the room he was in, she leaned heavily on one of them to catch her breath. The men inside gave her an odd look and she did not blame them. She must have looked odd in a ripped, fitted gown of silvery-black while bleeding profusely from a shallow wound that crossed her left shoulder down to her swollen elbow. After their initial shock, they started shouting at each other in their rough language, panic in their voices, while pointing at each other and demanding things that Keilana could not even start to guess at. They were merely servants and had been given little training in real fighting so Keilana did not consider them a threat.   
  
Kyp gave her a rather concerned look before grabbing a tunic from the man who had frozen in the middle of handing it to him and shrugged it on.   
  
Once Keilana managed to catch her breath, she looked at Kyp.  
  
"They…they know. We've got to get out of here," she said as she leveled her blaster at the male servants. They all froze. None of them wanted any trouble.  
  
"Know…? How? Are you all right?"  
  
"I'll be fine but this is not a good time for questions."  
  
Kyp looked at her for a moment longer before grabbing his boots and stumbling into them as he ran.  
  
As soon as they had put several floors between them and the panicked servants, Keilana setting the pace, Kyp grabbed her shoulder and wrenched her to a stop. She winced as her elbow was jerked into her side.  
  
"What the hell is going on, Keilana?" Kyp asked, his eyes hard. "You better give me an explanation for all of the commotion, all of the blood, and your latest set of wounds."  
  
"This is not a good time," Keilana hissed as she tried to pull away. Kyp was stronger and held onto her shoulder.  
  
"No, it's a perfect time. We are in an abandoned hallway and everyone is concerned with the safety of the nobles for the moment. They don't know who we are nor do they know where we are."  
  
"Actually," Keilana said, shoving out her left arm. The first thing Kyp noticed about her arm (besides the long cut) was that her elbow had swollen to twice its normal size and was a nasty shade of red. Keilana had to point out the brand hidden in the scar as she started to spread a thick paste over her biceps. It immediately lessened the bleeding but did not help to regain any of the function she had temporarily lost in that arm. She replaced the medicine container in a pouch before speaking. "I got into a lot of trouble in this system a long time ago when I was involved in a very destructive Hunt as well as having an affair with the head of the operation, the newly appointed Senator Winton Fuero. He was put on probation since they couldn't solidly connect him to the scandal and I was put on trial as a traitor—up until then I had been a model citizen." This statement intrigued Kyp but he did not ask her about it. Keilana continued: "The Head Advisor herself led the hearing and it was she who oversaw my branding. I managed to escape imprisonment after a few months, but the brand is not something that is going away anytime soon. Anyway, Seva's mother, the same Advisor, walked into the room I was being fitted in. She recognized me right away and that's what's happening. The Lyians despise my kind and especially me as the bounty hunter and the little girl who escaped from one of their renowned prisons."  
  
While she explained all of this, Keilana had been wandering around the hall, looking back at Kyp from time to time, as if looking for something. "I spent a lot of time in the palace—now where is it?"  
  
However, Keilana stopped in her search for whatever it was she was looking for and glanced towards voices coming their way.  
  
"I hear them too," Kyp said. He grabbed Keilana's uninjured elbow and pulled her towards one of the picture windows across from them. Throwing his hand out in front of him, he caused the glass to shatter out of its pane. Catching Kyp's thoughts, Keilana stepped up on the sill and peered over the edge.  
  
"That's got to be at least eight stories, Kyp."  
  
"Afraid?"  
  
"Not for my hide, flyboy." Giving him a grin, Keilana shoved the stolen blaster into the front of her belt and pulled out an instrument that resembled the weapon she had just put away. Aiming at the opposite wall, Keilana pulled the trigger. A tiny coil and collapsed grappling hook shot forward and stuck soundly in the wall. Keilana tugged at it and started to back towards the edge. Kyp gave her a wary look.  
  
"Will you be able to hold yourself with one arm?"  
  
"Of course," Keilana said. Giving him a mock salute, Keilana jumped backwards just as Kyp spun around at the first sound of blaster bolts. His hand unconsciously sought for his lightsaber before he was stopped by a tiny pebble slicing across his cheek. Glaring down at Keilana, she shook her head and yelled something at him that was caught in the wind that had picked up. Scowling and looking around for anything to hang on to, Kyp sighed in defeat. Stepping to the edge of the window and turning around, he leapt.  
  
---  
  
Jaina had sensed the trouble in the palace as she was on her way back from Keilana's ship. Unsure of what was happening, she had started to sprint forward, hoping to make it to the large house before things got too out of hand. She didn't know what she could do, but standing around was definitely not of the top of her list.   
  
Skidding to a halt at the sight of two people standing on the edge of a window, Jaina squinted to make sure she wasn't seeing things. She knew exactly who they were but she could hardly believe it. It did not surprise her when Keilana started to repel down the side of the building (the woman was crafty, Jaina would give her that) but when Kyp just leapt, Jaina brought her hand up to her mouth, horror and shock crashing through her body. She could not move, only watch.  
  
From where she stood, Jaina could see that Keilana had made it safely to the ground, albeit hitting it hard in her haste to get down. Glancing up, the other woman apparently caught sight of Kyp and tugged at the cable she had been using. Jaina guessed that it sprung back into its home for Keilana quickly replaced the instrument on her belt. Looking back at Kyp, Keilana did not seem overly impressed and definitely was not worried about the safety of the Jedi.   
  
As Kyp approached the ground, Jaina could barely bring herself to watch. Eight stories was a very long fall, even for a Jedi. Just when it seemed as if he would never stop, Kyp rotated himself in the air and started to slow down. He still hit the ground with a force that looked painful, even from where Jaina was standing, but the older Jedi gave the appearance that he had not even noticed the fall for he was up out of his crouch and running within a few seconds. Keilana was on his heel and they were upon Jaina within a minute.  
  
"Quit standing around, Solo!" Keilana yelled as she passed the younger woman. Kyp was now lagging behind, the fall having affected him more than he thought it would. However, it was not by much. He had passed Jaina before she could even turn towards the ship. When he glanced back at her, Jaina didn't think again before joining them. Only her utter confusion as to what had happened in the palace had kept her in her spot for longer than necessary.  
  
Running after the adults, she had to duck as blaster bolts started to burn the air around them. She watched Kyp for any sign that he was going to draw his lightsaber. When he did not, Jaina furrowed her brow and skipped to the side to avoid several unseen bolts. They hit the path next to her and charred the white stone. She wanted to draw her lightsaber and fight, almost every fiber of her being was telling her to do so. But when Kyp kept running, she felt compelled to as well. This time they would run, next time, they would fight. That's what this was, a retreat because they were greatly outnumbered.  
  
There was no other explanation as far as Jaina was concerned. She did not run. She nor Kyp nor Keilana had ever run (as far as she knew). Why was this time so different?  
  
However, Jaina did not have the chance to answer her question for the next thing she knew they were sprinting up the ramp and into the ship. Keilana leapt and ducked onto the ramp, Kyp and Jaina following close after, though after it had opened completely.  
  
Once they made it into the ship, the two Jedi made their way to the cockpit where Keilana was already going through a hasty startup. Not even sparing them a glance, Keilana hit the control to close the hatch. Within a minute, the ship's engines roared to life and Keilana pulled back on the controls, lifting them up off the ground at a dizzying rate. No one bothered to ask her how much danger they were in. For the moment, they all trusted her to get them safely off the planet. After all, she must have done this before in her line of work.  
  
They were able to make it into orbit without any hassle but nobody in the cockpit calmed down. They knew that it had been too easy. And they were right.  
  
"Oh no," Keilana muttered.  
  
"What?" Kyp looked at her.  
  
"Shit."  
  
"_What?_"  
  
"Phantoms, four of them. They don't want me to leave this system alive, that's for sure."  
  
"Wonderful," Jaina said as she crossed her arms. Jacen placed a hand on his sister's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. It worked, if only a little.  
  
"What are we going to do?" Jacen asked.  
  
"Outrun them, of course," Keilana said. "Kyp, find a safe route out of here."  
  
Before he could say a thing, Keilana pulled them into a sharp starboard-downward spin to avoid a large capital ship that had lumbered into their path. On the display, their pursuers scattered to find their separate ways around the ship before reforming into wing partners. The Phantoms then started to accelerate and alarms started to sound throughout the ship that they were approaching. The shots fired were going wide as if they didn't actually want to hit the ship they pursued. That didn't last for long. Before Keilana could send most of her shields to the back, one bolt hit home. The ship jerked to the side as one of the engines sputtered sickeningly before roaring back to life. Keilana slammed a fist down on the console and the alarms died. Muttering something about holding on to anything dear, Keilana dialed up the compensator and pulled her ship into an impossibly tight hairpin turn. In fact, before the engines could catch up with the maneuver, they travelled backwards for a length due to their inertia and momentum. Despite the compensation, Jaina's head started to swim and her vision blackened for a moment. Keilana seemed to come out of the turn perfectly fine, however, and accelerated away at top speed.  
  
"A system would be nice, Kyp!" Keilana said as she glanced at the the display. The Phantoms hadn't been caught by the turn as other, more clumsy fighters might have been. Cursing and muttering away, she forced her ship into a nose dive from their relative position. It groaned and complained, still not fully recovered from the last trick she had forced upon it or the shot to the engine, but the _Scrimshaw_ obeyed anyway.  
  
"I'm working on it," he said.  
  
"You don't have to be too picky, we aren't vacationing there." Keilana gave Kyp a quick glance of impatience and shook her head. "Eai'altaa nia Jeedi…"   
  
"What?" Kyp asked, halting his search.  
  
"Nothing," Keilana snapped. Behind them, Jaina gave her twin a significant look.  
  
"I know you said something about me," Kyp said as he went back to the computer.  
  
"What makes you think that?" Keilana pulled back on the controls and brought her ship into a sharp spin that sent them in the opposite direction they had been heading.  
  
"I can recognize the word Jedi in any language."  
  
"I didn't say Jedi."  
  
"Then what was this 'Jeedi'?"  
  
"Well, fine, I was talking about you." Keilana said as she banked dangerously close to a ship that had just come out of hyperspace. "It wasn't important."  
  
"I don't like it when people talk about me in other languages while I am right there."  
  
"Oh, and this happens often?"  
  
"More often than you would think, actually."  
  
During this entire exchange, Jaina and Jacen had been watching the two elders, their gazes shifting to whomever was speaking. Jaina actually found it quite amusing. They were bickering like children.  
  
"Really? That's interesting."  
  
"Keilana, Kyp, will you please concentrate?" Jacen said after a moment. They both looked back at him briefly before looking at each other.  
  
"So, how's that search coming along."  
  
"It's sort of hard with you breathing down my neck, Keilana."  
  
"Well I'm sorry that I want to save our hides sometime this century."  
  
"I'm sure."  
  
"We've got the children to think about, Kyp."  
  
"Hey!" Jacen and Jaina said together. They went unnoticed.  
  
"I can't think about anything with you hounding after me."  
  
"System, Kyp."  
  
"Quiet, Key."  
  
"Jueeta kie, Kyp—kleena _nu_?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"WILL YOU TWO STOP!" Jaina said, finally having enough. "We have four invisible ships on our tail, we have nowhere to escape to, an entire planet is after us, and you two find time to have a cheery little spat? I thought you were the adults here!"  
  
Kyp looked at Jaina before glancing at the screen and Keilana looked at him.  
  
"How does Geonosis sound?"  
  
"Like a dream." Keilana glanced at the computer Kyp was looking at. "What are the coordinates?"  
  
Kyp told her before she instructed him how to input them into the navcomputer. Spinning the ship in the direction of the jump, and checking that Kyp had done his job correctly, Keilana pulled back on the levers to accelerate them into hyperspace and away from the Lye Cluster.  
  
--------  
  
A/N: It's over for the school year...it's finally over. Now I can write once again without being interrupted by my design.   
  
Okay, so I'm sure you're wondering "what the hell did Keilana say?" I know I would be saying as much. Well, since I found putting the translations right after the Mandelorian broke the pace of the story, (which I just made up…is there an actual dictionary out there or do I just get to make up the words as I go?) I chose to put them here:  
  
_"Eai'altaa nia Jeedi…"_ translates out to _"Of all the Jedi…"  
  
"Jueeta kie, Kyp—kleena _nu_?" _roughly translates out to "_Good lord, Kyp—why _me_?"_  
  
Okay, this is where I leave you. I'm not sure how long until the next chapter comes out—I'm so tired...quiero me cama...maybe now that summer is here I will be able to sleep.  
  



	8. Chameleon

  
  
Chameleon  
  
"Lady Añaa Geiv Ulkin," the Crimelord drawled.  
  
"Crimelord," the Lady answered. She looked on the person in front of her, watching as the Crimelord paid rapt attention to two large creatures set by the throne rather than the guest herself. The Crimelord's pets mewled as they were pet and fed but growled fiercely and snarled their great teeth if anyone dared to approach the throne. They were very large, the two of them, with cruel yellow eyes and dark spotted fur that prickled along their spines when they grew angry. Standing as tall as a man's waist with long snouts full of razor sharp teeth, they were quite a frightening pair. Añaa was surprised that they could be tamed as pets for they seemed far more like the wild hounds of Dantooine then anything else. And, yet, she had never set her eyes on the species before.  
  
Tearing her gaze from the two hounds, Añaa once again looked upon the Crimelord.  
  
"You summoned me here, Great One, and I came as quickly as I could but you have yet to tell me of my purpose."  
  
The Crimelord put up one long hand to silence the Lady. Looking up from the hounds, the Crimelord seemed to watch Añaa without seeing her.  
  
"In due time, my friend. These things cannot be rushed."  
  
"If I am away from my post on Tatooine for much longer than the Senate will start to inquire into my prolonged absence and there are chances, while slim, that they could follow me here."  
  
"Here?" The Crimelord blinked once and seemed to look through the Lady. Añaa had her doubts that the Crimelord's unnaturally green eyes could see her, if anything at all. No, the one on the throne seemed to have a sight beyond that of a normal being. The Lady nearly jumped as the Crimelord started to speak. "I certainly hope that you do not have any incriminating evidence on your estate that would lead the New Republic to me, dear friend."  
  
"Of course not, Master."  
  
The Crimelord nodded and turned once again to the hounds. The throne room was silent.  
  
After a long while, the Crimelord turned to the Lady and gestured someone forward. That someone stopped in the shadows, their face concealed, and did not move further.  
  
"You and I have common interests, my friend. We both thrive for the hunt and we both love to see justice done to those who deserve it." These words came slow, calculated. "We also both seek someone who has done us wrong and wish to see that someone suffer for all of her evil doings."  
  
A cruel smile shaped the Lady's lips. "I believe I know the one you speak of."  
  
"Keilana? Yes, my friend."  
  
The Crimelord fell silent and Añaa bristled with anger.  
  
"Did you bring me here for a reason beyond to establish that we hunt the same woman?"  
  
"All in due time." The Crimelord's words came calmly but with a cool undertone that the Lady could not mistake. She calmed herself down and waited for the Crimelord to continue.  
  
"You see," the Crimelord started. "I have the means to track her down perfectly well on my own, but it comes at a cost. Certain mercenary friends that I have hired are asking for far more than they have in the past because of certain…complications. And while I have the wealth as well, there is compensation that my friends have requested, and this is where you come in."  
  
The Crimelord ran a tongue over dry lips and created a fist to rest under a pointed chin. The other arm rested against spectacular robes of dark red at the Crimelord's side.  
  
"Not only do I request that you help fund this hunt, but that you look into clearing any records pertaining to my helpers. It would do us both a great deal of good in the long run." These last words came slowly and Añaa could hardly find the words to disagree. Yes, what the Crimelord said made sense. She couldn't help but agree.  
  
"Of course, my master, whatever you ask of me and I shall look into it upon my immediate arrival home."  
  
"Excellent, my friend."  
  
"Only… I'll need their names—their true names—to make sure any and all incriminating records against them are cleared. And, Great One, I can do you one better and make sure that your mercenaries have free and complete access to all planets and places they desire in their search for Keilana."  
  
"Very good." The Crimelord looked to the left and beckoned the person there to step forward. From the shadows stepped a thin woman with indigo skin and short black hair slicked out of her face. Her eyes glowed a brilliant yellow that was speckled with purple. Grinning, a mouth full of large, razor sharp teeth was exposed as a delicate prehensile tail whipped about in primal delight. In one hand she held a wooden staff and on her belt, a lightsaber swung silently back and forth.  
  
"I have but one mercenary for you to clear." the Crimelord said slowly. The woman by the throne grinned wider and slashed her tail in anticipation. "Her name is Llewyn du Kiins, formerly of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant."

* * *

The transition from hyperspace to real space was rough. _Scrimshaw_ jerked around as if in a strong wind and groaned in complaint as her engines began to fail. It was all Keilana could do to keep her ship heading towards the rust coloured planet in her viewport at the correct entry angle to prevent them from becoming atmospheric dust. Other than distant alarms and the creaks of a protesting ship, everything was silent. Jacen and Jaina sat in the lounge attempting to ignore the fact that ship seemed to be coming apart around them as Kyp sat in the copilot seat to help Keilana control the failing ship.  
  
As she entered atmosphere, _Scrimshaw_'s engines gave out completely. Her nose dipped towards the planet as flames enveloped her hull. They were coming in too steeply. Keilana started to frantically throw switches and pull levers in an attempt to restart the engines. They whined loudly, sputtered to life and died once again. There seemed to be no turning them back on. Keilana swore viciously in Huttese (as it held the only curses strong enough for the situation) and stood up.  
  
"Where are you going?" Kyp asked turning around in his chair to watch her leave. She stopped in the doorway, her hands on the frame, to give him a look over her shoulder. Keilana's dark eyes caught the light of the fire and flashed eerily, her irises and pupils lost in the light.  
  
"To warn the others and to make a last, desperate attempt to save my ship." She turned to leave but paused as she thought of something. Not turning around, Keilana said, "Get to the escape pods, Kyp."  
  
She then left at a sprint. Her footfalls echoed down the passageway and towards the engine room at the rear of the ship. Pulling a panel off the floor, Keilana lowered herself in and started tinkering with the wires and controls found there.  
  
After many agonizingly long moments, she managed to give a little life to the engines. Without bothering to cover the pit, Keilana headed back to the cockpit and strapped herself into her seat. It was not until that point did she dare to look out of the viewport. They were out of the upper layers of the atmosphere and the ground seemed to be rushing up at the ship at an alarming speed.  
  
However, Keilana did not panic. She simply let out a sigh and gripped the controls. Her knuckles started to turn white as she fought both her ship's momentum and gravity to straighten _Scrimshaw_ out and save all those aboard.  
  
Just when it seemed as if she would never be able to pull it off, Keilana gave one last heave and the ship cooperated. It came up to follow the curve of the planet, flying on its side. The canyon they had fallen into was only barely wide enough to accommodate them and they were deep at the bottom of it, far below the surface and level ground. Keilana did not dare attempt to pull up out of the canyon as she was not sure whether or not her ship's engines would hold or support the great weight of her ship enough to lift them to the surface, at least not for the moment. Just thirty more seconds, that was all she needed for the engines to gain a mere half of their power. That was all she could muster out of them.  
  
But she hardly got even that.  
  
When the canyon threatened to become too thin to fly through any longer, Keilana managed to pull out of it. She started to skim the surface of the planet leaving a great cloud dust and debris in her wake. Her eyes scanned the surface as it rushed by looking for a place to land. It didn't take long to find a space big enough. However, as she started to circle back, her engines began to sputter yet again, threatening to die for the final time. Swearing loudly, Keilana hit a button to bring up the intership comm.  
  
"Hold on back there," was all she said.  
  
Pulling the nose of her ship up and turning it on its side, Keilana grit her teeth and turned on the forward thrusters. _Scrimshaw_ gave a great jerk and threw Keilana forward into her crashwebbing, bruising her chest instantly. Her ship then started to spin as half of the main engines died. After a moment, Keilana was able to steady the ship out. She engaged the main hoverlifts and shut off both the front thrusters and the main engines. The _Scrimshaw_ fell the final ten feet to the ground when the thrusters refused to hold her weight for very long. As soon as they were safely on the ground, Keilana let out her breath; she didn't realize that she had been holding it. In fact, she was nearly panting.  
  
Slowly lifting the crashwebbing over her head, Keilana rubbed at the bruises across her chest and stomach as she stood up. Now it was time to face the damage. Lifting a well secured panel and pressing the single button that shut down every system in the ship, Keilana left the cockpit.  
  
When she entered the lounge, the Jedi looked up at her. Great relief was rolling off the three of them in waves.  
  
"I'm going outside," Keilana said, crossing the room to a large locker built into the wall. She pulled out a leather jacket that nearly brushed the floor and a pair of goggles. "There's a storm brewing, but I need to check the damage this little adventure caused." She pulled on a pair of gloves and sighed. "Could the three of you check the ship for any internal damage or breaches?"  
  
Without another word, Keilana flipped up the collar of her jacket and tied a cloth over her mouth and nose to keep out the sand. Fastening the upturned neck as a further guard against the sand, Keilana pulled the goggles down over her eyes and left the lounge without another glance to the Jedi. She lowered the entry ramp and stepped out into the sand storm. Though her goggles had been designed to function in any climate, the sand was nearly too thick to see through. Ducking her head and trailing her gloved hand along the heated belly of her ship, Keilana made her way towards the engines.  
  
However, she never made it that far.  
  
Gripping her head, Keilana fell to her knees as something screamed inside her mind. It felt as if something were trying to tear its way out out of her skull. Gasping painfully, Keilana hunched over and pressed her forehead against the ground, hoping the pain would disappear. Instead, it gave way to something far worse…  
  
Before her, partially obscured by the dust storm, stood a man in Mandalorian armor.  
  
"Dad?" She muttered. Opening her eyes to peer through the sand, Keilana looked up from the ground and the man was gone. He had never been there. She shivered and gripped her head again. There was something about that man that made every fiber of her being burn. He was so familiar and yet, she did not know him.  
  
The wind started to whip with greater fervor around Keilana, howling in her ears. When she tried to stand, she was barely able to make it to her feet and when she did, she struggled against the gale blowing around her.  
  
"Keilana?" Her name came as a bare whisper through the sand. Looking up, Keilana noticed a shadow standing in the hatch, gripping the doorjamb against the wind. It was Jacen.  
  
"I'm here," she answered though hardly loud enough. Her throat was full of sand. Coughing, Keilana gripped the cooling underbelly of her ship and managed to pull herself towards the young man.  
  
"Are you okay?" He asked as Keilana started to shut her ship against the storm. "You disappeared there for a moment."  
  
"I was only a few meters away and the storm isn't that bad yet." Keilana pushed her goggles up into her hair and shook her head, adding to the sand that already covered the floor. She pulled down her collar and tugged the cloth down around her throat. "Though, I think we are in for a rough couple of hours."  
  
"I meant in the Force, Keilana; you flickered out for a moment. What happened out there?"  
  
"Nothing, Jacen."  
  
Jacen gave her a skeptical look and crossed his arms. Keilana furrowed her brow and frowned.  
  
"Fine. I…saw something."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm not sure. It wasn't real, at least not in the physical sense."  
  
"Like a vision?"  
  
"I think it was more of a memory," Keilana said slowly. "Though, I've never been here, so it isn't mine." She frowned deeper and turned away from Jacen. "We'll have to wait until this storm is over before even attempting to make any external repairs. I need to do some thinking; I'll be in my cabin."  
  
Sighing, Keilana hesitated before moving down the hall and away from the young man.  
  


* * *

Jacen watched as Keilana disappeared around a corner before turning and taking the long way to the lounge. He passed by the room that contained the holding pens and paused, turning to look at them. Stepping over the threshold, Jacen ran a hand over the cool walls of the cages, shivering as he entered the field created by Keilana's sickly ysalamiri. He had taken care of the creature since the mission had started and he could feel it getting stronger only by the way its field had grown. However, he had to be careful, as horrible as it sounded. If the ysalamiri regained its full strength then every single person on the mission would be stripped of their powers every time they were within the body of the ship.  
  
Perhaps that was why Keilana had allowed the creature to grow sickly; she had felt oddly naked within the creature's full range.  
  
Stepping away from the weakened creature and to the opposite side of the large room, Jacen lowered himself to the floor and crossed his legs. Once settled, he slipped his eyes shut and allowed the Force to flow through and around him. He opened his mind and started to think.  
  
However, he didn't get very far before being interrupted.  
  
"I thought I would find you here," Jaina said, "odd as it sounds. Why would you choose a place like this to meditate?"  
  
"Because it's quiet." Jacen did not open his eyes. "Or, at least, it was." He grinned as he slowly lifted his lids. "Can I help you with something, Jaina?"  
  
"I just wanted to…talk."  
  
"Oh?" Jacen rose his brow as he studied his sister. Jaina frowned.  
  
"Don't look so surprised." Jaina moved from the doorway to sit down next to her brother. "Though, I did want to ask you about Keilana…well, talk about her, really."  
  
This did take Jacen by surprise. It was not necessarily the topic that surprised him as much as the fact that Jaina's voice was calm. He turned to look at his sister but she did not meet his gaze; her eyes were locked on the floor.  
  
"I want to apologize for how I've been acting lately."  
  
"You don't have to—"  
  
"No, let me finish." Jaina closed her eyes and was silent for a moment. When she continued, her voice was just above a whisper. "Keilana brings out the worst in me and I'm not exactly sure why. There are times that I do think that I might be able to trust her, but then she'll walk into the room and something goes through me that I just can't explain. It's as if I know subconsciously that there is something more that she is hiding from us. Something big. I can't help it, but that suspicion lurks in my gut whenever she's near. I can't ignore it, Jacen.  
  
"You're right to say that she has a lot of charisma and I think that is the reason why people like her so much. I also think part of her charm comes through the Force itself," Jaina said slowly. She had spent some time thinking about Keilana and this was the conclusion that she had come to. Jaina continued, "and, I think that since she isn't forcing it on anybody, people just can't help but like her. And since she isn't forcing it on us, there's no way we can block it out without knowing what's going on. However, I think that there is a part of me sensitive enough to feel what she's doing—to feel her intrusion—and that it has blocked out her Force-charm. Because it is in many senses an intrusion, a red beckon goes off in my mind warning me that she's up to something, even if she isn't." Jaina held her lower lip between her teeth as if thinking. "I want to trust that she has reformed and that she's given up hunting for good, but every time the thought forms the alarm goes off. And I've learned to listen to my instincts over the years. Often times they are all that save me."  
  
Jaina then fell silent. Her eyes stayed locked on the floor even as she pulled her knees up to her chest.  
  
"They also tend to get you into more trouble than it's worth, Jaina." Jacen had taken to gazing across the room during Jaina's speech and, therefore, did not catch her glare.  
  
Jaina sighed and shook her head slowly. "I also have a weird feeling that this mission is going to turn out to be much more challenging than we originally thought it would be."  
  
Jacen chuckled. "Since when has anything ever gone smoothly for anyone in our family, Jaina? And with two of us…" He simply trailed off with a hand gesture and a shrug. "Well, let's just say that Dad didn't coin the phrase _I've got a bad feeling about this_ for nothing."  
  
"What about Solo Luck, Jacen?"  
  
"I think we cancel each other out in that department. The only thing that seems to multiply is the Solo-ability-to-find-trouble syndrome." He grinned and nudged Jaina with his shoulder. "Don't worry, Jaina, everything will turn out fine in the end, you'll see."  
  
"Just like it always does?" Jaina leaned against Jacen and rested her cheek against his shoulder. Shifting slightly, Jacen wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulders and nodded.  
  
"Just like it always does, Jaina."  
  


* * *

Several hours after the sandstorm died down, Kyp found Keilana resting on the top of her ship. She was laying on her back on top of the starboard mandible, standing out in the dark against the _Scrimshaw_'s matte black finish. The sky above was alight with millions of stars as shadows in the distance marked the monumental landscape of Geonosis—the mesas, the buttes, and the spire-hives of the natives. Kyp had not beheld such a breathtaking sight in many years.  
  
He stood in awe at the edge of the hatch until Keilana's voice brought him out of his wonder.  
  
"I almost forgot just how many stars you can see at night from the surface of a planet." She crossed her ankles but otherwise remained motionless. "It's been a very long time since I was in the capacity to enjoy such a sight."  
  
"You aren't the only one," Kyp said as he drew nearer to Keilana. Sitting on the cool surface of the ship, he crossed his legs and craned his neck to take in the sky. "I don't know last time I saw more than a dozen stars in the night sky."  
  
Keilana simply sighed in response; she seemed sad. Kyp turned his head to look at her but said nothing. He was pretty sure that he knew the source of her pain but he did not want to prod. After a moment, Keilana took notice of his studying and shifted to meet his gaze. Neither said a thing for the moment.  
  
At length, Kyp turned away and focused on the shadows in the distance.  
  
"You miss Jax," he said.  
  
"Unbearably so," she responded softly. "I've never loved anything as deep as I love him and everyday that goes by without holding him in my arms grinds like something terrible."  
  
"That sounds awful."  
  
Keilana sat up and shook her head. "I just keep telling myself that I'm doing something that will help ensure his future and that's all that keeps me going from day to day."  
  
She pressed her lips together as she brought her knees up to her chest to rest her chin upon.  
  
"Jax makes me realize and miss everything that I didn't have as I grew up. My father took bounties to ensure his financial future with hardly a care for what I needed. I had to fight with whores and Hutts for his attention and I had to prove myself if I wanted food and a place to live. I never had a home beyond a ship that I hated because it represented everything that I despised in my father." Keilana's tone turned harsh the more she spoke of Boba Fett. Kyp flinched. In a younger, much less experienced student he would have banished all thoughts of hatred in an instant, but he wasn't sure how to calm Keilana. Perhaps just letting her talk was the best he could do for the moment.  
  
However, Keilana did not continue to speak on that subject. If she hadn't stood up in sudden alarm, Kyp would have been relieved. As it was, Kyp followed her outstretched finger to a point on the horizon as he too stood up.  
  
"Did you see that?" She asked, not taking her eyes off a large mesa in the distance.  
  
"See what?" Kyp asked, narrowing his eyes as if it would help.  
  
"Three ships just entered the atmosphere before disappearing below the horizon."  
  
Kyp turned to give Keilana a skeptical look. "I think you're just being paranoid, Keilana. I'm sure you just caught the path of a meteor out of the corner of your eye."  
  
She seemed to consider this for a moment before shaking both her head and her finger.  
  
"No, no, I'm pretty sure about what I saw. Meteors don't enter atmosphere in a formation." Keilana turned and headed straight for the top hatch. Before Kyp could catch up, she had already disappeared down the cylindrical tube. Pursing his lips, Kyp turned back to where Keilana had pointed. He couldn't see a thing.  
  
As the wind started to pick up, Kyp narrowed his eyes against the blowing sand and continued to watch the horizon. After a moment of nothing but the howling of the wind and the twinkling of the stars over his head, Kyp was caught off his guard when the whine of ion engines rose above everything else. Keilana had been right.  
  
Not bothering for the elevator to rise, Kyp swung himself down into the shaft and fell the ten feet to the floor, landing squarely on his feet. He stepped out of the elevator only to meet the twins in the hallway.  
  
"What's going on, Kyp?" Jaina asked. Her brow was knit in concern.  
  
"We're about to have some company," Kyp said before motioning for them to follow him. Jacen had an easier time keeping up with the older Jedi than his sister.  
  
"What do you mean?" The young man asked.  
  
"I mean that three ships are heading our way."  
  
Neither of the twins responded and Kyp was glad for it. He had his hunches about where the ships had come from but he wasn't quite ready to voice them as of yet. As soon as the three Jedi reached the outrigger cockpit, Keilana confirmed Kyp's suspicions. Looking up at them, she pointed to three red figures on the display screen.  
  
"Three Phantoms followed us through hyperspace looking to clean my stain from the galaxy once and for all."  
  
"Why'd it take them so long to find us?"  
  
"Well, Solo, there was an entire planet to search and a nasty sandstorm to wait out, that's why. And now that they've pinned down our location, they're coming in to mop up what they started back on Lye."  
  
"Great," Jaina said as she crossed her arms. "What are we going to do?"  
  
"We're not going to sit around and wait for them to dispose of us, that's for sure," Keilana said as she sat down. She motioned for the others to follow suit before bringing up a display of the ship's working systems. Typing out a command with one hand, Keilana reached up and over her head with the other to throw a couple of switches. The controls started to hum with life. Keilana reached forward on the panel in front of her and turned a knob slowly. The noise in the cockpit rose in timbre in response.  
  
"What exactly are you doing?" Jaina asked after watching Keilana for several minutes.  
  
"Saving our necks," she said without looking at the young woman. "This old girl has a few tricks left up her sleeve...hear that?" She mumbled at the ship.  
  
"Yes, but what are you doing?"  
  
"Making us disappear," Keilana answered simply.  
  
"Disappear."  
  
"That's what I said."  
  
"I'm sure that a squadron of cloaked ships will be able to spot us real fast," Jaina said, expressing her doubts. The other two voiced their agreements.  
  
"Now, I didn't say that I was cloaking us, did I?" And Keilana left the subject at that, refusing to discuss it any further. She couldn't let the Jedi in on all of her secrets after all.  
  
After many long minutes, Keilana shut down every system except for one. The cockpit fell silent and Keilana motioned for the others to remain so as well. They all watched the sky for any indication that the Phantoms were approaching. After a time, Keilana pointed to the sky as the stars started to ripple.  
  
"There they are," she said under her breath. The Jedi nodded and continued to watch. There were no further indications that the ships had located them.  
  
Until they landed about ten meters away, that is.  
  
The three Phantoms set down in all of their uncloaked glory and managed to shine in the light provided by the stars. They were a terrible sight to behold and the pilots that climbed out of them were just as frightening. Decked out in black, the pilots all but disappeared into the night.  
  
"I don't think it worked," Keilana said after a moment. "They know we're here."  
  
"So…" Kyp glanced at Keilana with a quizzical look.  
  
Keilana shrugged. "So, we go out there and talk to them civil like."  
  
"Right."  
  
"Well, it certainly is better than sitting around in here hoping they don't see us. _I can't see you so you can't see me_ doesn't work in this situation." Keilana stood up and, checking the locks on her holsters, she left the cockpit.  
  
Kyp caught up with her as she was lowering the hatch.  
  
"So you are just going to walk out there?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm going to try to talk some sense into them or attempt to pay them off."  
  
Kyp furrowed his brow as the hatch lowered. "I don't know how well that's going to work, Key."  
  
"Well, it doesn't hurt trying, now does it?" Keilana started down the ramp as it touched down and Kyp's shrug went unnoticed.  
  


* * *

As Keilana approached the three pilots, their leader's voice rose above the howling wind.  
  
"Very cleaver, bounty hunter," the pilot said. Though distorted by both the helmet and the wind, the pilot's voice was distinctly female. As Keilana drew closer, she noticed that one of the other pilots was female as well while the third was male.  
  
"What is?" Keilana asked when the leader did not bother to elaborate on her comment.  
  
"Your Chameleon Drive. I haven't seen one with my own eyes but I certainly have heard about them. In fact, we almost didn't spot you until one of my wing mates came up with a brilliant idea." The longer the pilot talked, the more familiar her voice became. Keilana stepped forward another meter or so and narrowed her eyes against the blowing sand. The pilots were wearing flightsuits of black with the yellow cords of the Royal Guard draped over their shoulders. Each wore one blaster pistol holstered at their hip and a long dagger sheathed against the back of their belts. The leader was also wearing a long black cape attached to one shoulder that the wind was whipping around her legs. All in all, the three were quite striking, even in the dim light provided by the stars and the Phantom's landing lights.  
  
"They are very rare after all, your Grace," Keilana said, a slight smile touching her lips.  
  
"Ah, yes," the woman said, lifting her arms. Keilana's left hand went instantly to her blaster. However the leader simply lifted her helmet over her head and shook out dark hair which had been decorated with braids and beads in the ancestral warrior fashion of her culture. Keilana heard Kyp suck in a breath of surprise behind her; she simply shook her head and closed her arms over her chest.  
  
"To be honest, I'm not surprised they sent you to chase after me, Seva Caiterina," Keilana said after a moment. Seva's face remained stoic but her anger was apparent.  
  
"I chose to come after you, Hunter, and do you know why?"  
  
Keilana shook her head.  
  
"You. Ruined. My. Life. That's why, Leena. You just had to come back to Lye, didn't you? You just had to seek out Winton for another one of your sick escapades across the galaxy. His record had been clear since before you escaped from our prisons four years ago without so much as a blemish." Seva's blue eyes were aflame with anger and hate as she accused Keilana. Keilana, on the other hand, stood calmly in front of her taking the blows as if they were old news. "So, do you have anything to say for yourself?"  
  
"I'm just sorry that he got caught this time, Seva," Keilana said after a moment. She smiled and issued a humorless laugh. "You know, this is funny, actually."  
  
"I don't see the humor in it."  
  
"He has been helping me for years now. You've got yourself quite an informed man running Guttina, you really do. He knows a lot. You should be proud."  
  
Seva shook her head. "You cold hearted… You have no feelings, do you?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know…"  
  
"I can't marry Winton now that you've destroyed what he's worked so hard to achieve. My parent's would never sanction a marriage between myself and a bounty hunter sympathizer. The King has already threatened to strip him of every title he has held and all of his names save two. Winton's too intelligent to be thrown to the bottom of the castes like that." Keilana could see the tears well up in Seva's eyes. "And that's why I'm here. You are coming back with me."  
  
"And if I say _no_?"  
  
"Then you come back in pieces. Though I'll have to be careful because they want you alive."  
  
Keilana rose her brow and whistled. She glanced at the other two pilots who had remained silent and still throughout the confrontation. Through the Force, Keilana could feel Kyp's anticipation of trouble.  
  
"Well, I'm not too fond of either choice, Seva. Do you think we can solve this diplomatically? I mean, I could record an apology that you can air once you go home as well as send a gift of riches to your king…or we can solve this here on Geonosis between you and me."  
  
"You are a fugitive of the Cluster, Leena; I couldn't possibly decide your future myself and expect to get away with it upon my return home."  
  
"Then we're at a stalemate, I guess. You won't act and I won't budge—"  
  
"Get down!" Kyp suddenly yelled from behind Keilana. In an instant, everybody was on their stomachs in the sand as a volley of blaster fire burned the air above them.  
  
"Who the hell else did you bring out here!" Keilana yelled at Seva. The older woman narrowed her eyes in anger.  
  
"I've only myself and my wing mates. The question is: who did you attract?"  
  
"What makes you think they are here because of me!" Keilana yelled over the wind and the blaster fire that was slowly burning its way toward the five humans. She was about to accuse Seva of something further but didn't have the chance. Rolling to her right, Keilana barely managed to avoid getting hit by a very well aimed blaster bolt. She drew her own blaster from its holster and let a couple of wild shots go before looking in the direction of fire. In the dark it was incredibly hard to make anything out. However, thanks to an implant she had received some years earlier, Keilana had vision that was better than that of the average human being. Still it was hard to pick out the swiftly moving silhouettes of their attackers in the dark.  
  
"Because you've been here longer!" Seva answered. She and her pilots had pulled out their blasters as well and were shooting into the dark. Seva's wing mates appeared to be pulling off far more calculated and well-aimed shots. Keilana assumed it was because of their helmets and the technology therein.  
  
Keilana snorted; she knew Seva was right. The natives had probably been disturbed earlier in the day and hadn't been able to track down the intruding ship until now. Cursing under her breath, Keilana started to track the movements of the Geonosians while favoring her injured left arm (her sprained elbow was healing but it was still painful). Pulling off a flurry of blaster fire, Keilana managed to clip one of the aliens with little effect. It simply hopped above most of the blaster bolts to flutter in midair for a moment before touching down. To her left, Seva was yelling instructions to her pilots in their native tongue and to her right Kyp was fidgeting with his lack of anything to do. Pausing her tracking, Keilana tossed her extra blaster to the Jedi. He caught it and nodded his thanks.  
  
The stand off between the Geonosians and the humans lasted for several more minutes with little success on either side. Seva's pilots managed to clip another one of the insectoid aliens and the natives managed to burn a hole through Keilana's jacket. Then, all of a sudden, Geonosian blaster fire stopped and they disappeared in the blink of an eye. Seva and Keilana exchanged confused looks before turning to their respective teammates.  
  
"Can you feel them, Kyp? Because I've lost them." Keilana scooted closer to him in order to speak in low enough tones so that the Lyians couldn't overhear them. Kyp shook his head.  
  
"Not really. I get faint flickers through the Force, but it's almost as if they have a young or sick…" Kyp trailed off and his eyes widened in fear. "…ysalamiri."  
  
"The kids…" Keilana pushed herself up and took off towards her ship. Climbing the boarding ramp, she reached out through the Force for the twins but they were nowhere to be found. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins as her heart started to pound in her chest. She turned for the cages and stopped in her tracks when she was met with the scene before her. Two of the insectoid aliens lay in pieces on the floor and sand was strewn about the floor. A scent of burned clothing and flesh hung in the air. The walls were blacked by blaster fire. The ysalamiri was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"They're gone," Keilana muttered. Turning to Kyp as he skid around the corner and into the door, she shook her head hopelessly. "I don't know how the bugs did it, but the twins are gone."  
  


* * *

A/N: THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS! Knowing that people read this helps make my job as the author a little easier. Of course, a summer's worth of writers block doesn't help, but the chapter is finally here. It took the original Trilogy, Attack of the Clones, Harry Potter, the NJO series, and the Chronicles of Riddick to get me out of my funk. An odd pot, but they all helped in some form or another. That and reading back through some of the reviews you all left me. Thanks again! Until the next installment… 


	9. Chasing the Wind

  
  
Chasing the Wind  
  
Gone? How can they be gone? Kyp looked around the room in utter disbelief. We didn't hear any of the natives nearby during the exchange outside.  
  
Keilana shook her head. They're smart, the Geonosians. I'm sure they used some sort of odorless, invisible gas to knock the twins out, but not before the kids got a piece of them. She gestured around the room. All of our senses were tingling with danger and I'm sure most of us assumed it was because of the attack outside. I never thought Why would they want the twins anyway?  
  
It's not so much what the Geonosians want with the twins, it's what the Yuuzhan Vong want with them. And, personally, I wouldn't be surprised if the bugs were making deals with the Vong. In fact, I've heard a few things that would link them to the enemy.  
  
  
  
Twins are very rare among the Yuuzhan Vong and are borderline sacred, if I understand it correctly. This is because of their twin gods, Yun-Harla and Yun-Shuno. Traditionally, one twin would kill the other either in the womb or at a very young age. Kyp paused to make sure Keilana understood. She nodded for him to go on. Well, the warmaster, Tsavong Lah, wants Jacen and Jaina for a sacrificial ceremony in which they would have to fight to the death. Thus far they've managed to escape. Bringing them along on this mission was risky, but we needed them both.  
  
Keilana shook her head. We've got to contact Coruscant immediately.  
  
I think you're right.  
  
Right about what? Came another voice from the hallway. Kyp and Keilana turned in that direction. Seva was standing with her helmet tucked under one arm, her other hand on her hip. There's something going on here and I want to know what it is right now.  
  
Keilana and Kyp exchanged glances before turning back to Seva. Her wingmates had joined her, both having removed their helmets now that they were inside the ship. The male was getting on in years with grey-streaked black hair and the woman appeared Keilana's age, her hair short and blonde. Both remained silent as they watched Kyp and Keilana.  
  
Kyp gestured for Keilana to go ahead. You concocted the story.  
  
Story? What story? Seva's eyes narrowed in suspicion. What is your consort talking about, Leena?  
  
First off, this man is not my consort. His name is Kyp Durron and he is a member of the Jedi Order assigned, along with myself, on a mission to the outer regions of the galaxy.  
  
Seva snarled. Her brow knit before she laughed. You don't expect me to believe that you are a Jedi, do you, Leena?  
  
I'm not. Keilana stated this in such a way that caught Kyp off guard. What did she mean by that? However, Keilana went on. At least I don't consider myself one.  
  
I don't care who or what you consider yourself. Who are you and what do you want with the Cluster?  
  
Keilana sighed and glanced at Kyp for reassurance. He nodded and shrugged as if to say _what choice do you have?_ Pursing her lips, Keilana turned back to the pilots.  
  
My name is Keilana  
  
That was as far as she got before the Lyians reacted. Seva's eyes widened impossibly as her wingmates reached for their daggers.  
  
Seva said after a moment. No, you can't be Keilana. I don't believe you.  
  
Are you calling me a liar?  
  
I'm simply calling your bluff.  
  
On what grounds?  
  
One: Keilana disappeared over a year ago and all records state that she is most likely dead.  
  
Most likely doesn't mean is.  
  
Seva continued, giving Keilana a hard stare. There is an outstanding warrant of arrest on Keilana's head in the Lye Cluster and I would assume that such a well respected bounty hunter would know when to stay clear. Three: Respected New Republic agents have reported the death of Keilana from several reliable sources.  
  
Keilana snorted and shook her head. You, of all the people I've met over the years, are one of the last I would have expected to believe such statements.  
  
I believe what I am told, Leena.  
  
The younger woman shook her head. She placed her hands on her hips before speaking. Let me dissect these _facts_. One: People disappear for years on end just to reappear on the other side of the galaxy where they are least expected. Here, for example. Two: I was and am aware of the bounty but assumed that Winton wouldn't turn me in, which he didn't. It was only because your mother came to see me that I was found out. Three: Your agent, Añaa Geiv Ulkin, is not a reliable source of information nor is her bounty hunter informant seeing as _I am still alive._  
  
Seva looked as if she was about to say something nasty when Kyp stepped in between the two women.  
  
With all due respect, your Grace, you are wrong. However, that is not the topic of discussion. As we speak the other half of our team is being carried further away from us and, if we don't act fast, our chances of finding them will become next to impossible.  
  
There are more of you? Seva said. Her nostrils flared with anger. This was too much for her to take in all at once.  
  
Two more Jedi, Keilana said, holding up as many fingers. The twins Jacen and Jaina Solo.  
  
Seva said, quite obviously having had enough. So we have the man who destroyed Carida, a wanted criminal, and the Solo brats whom the Yuuzhan Vong are after all together on one mission. So what are you planning? Are you going to go on some fool-hearty quest to save them? I wouldn't expect anything less out of you what with the reputations you have. Except maybe you, Lee—Keilana. I'm surprised you haven't blasted off already to leave them to their fate, sad as it might be.  
  
Records and reputations hardly show the character of a person.  
  
Actually, Keilana  
  
Shut up, Kyp, you aren't helping me any.  
  
They looked at each other for a moment before they were interrupted by chuckling. It was Seva.  
  
I see Master Skywalker chose a competent team to head this mission. She gave them a smile and shrugged. Well, it looks as if I'll have to stick around to help you find your little lost children.  
  
Excuse me?  
  
Well, obviously you two wouldn't be able to find them on your own and I don't think the Skywalkers and Solos would appreciate it if you lost your charges. Keilana stood with her mouth hanging open as Seva turned to her pilots. Return to your ships and get what gear you need.  
  
Kyp was the first of the two to respond. Are you offering to help us?  
  
Oh, don't expect me to do this without getting something in return, Seva said over her shoulder as she started to exit the room. I expect to be well compensated upon the termination of this mission. Besides, I was trained to save those who were taken captive and not just leave them to their own devices.  
  
Before Keilana or Kyp could respond, Seva turned around and disappeared. As soon as she left, they turned to look at each other and began talking at the same time. When they realized this, both fell silent.  
  
Well, how do you like that, Keilana said, crossing her arms. She thinks that she can just come waltzing onto my ship and weasel her way into our rescue plans.  
  
What plans? We didn't have any until she came aboard.  
  
I don't know about you, but I was already thinking of an idea. Granted, it would have been difficult. I mean, two against thousands—millions?—aren't very good odds.  
  
Kyp chuckled but didn't explain. Keilana pursed her lips in annoyance and continued.  
  
Okay so I wasn'treally. Wellnever mind. But still, five against however many are out there is going to be difficult. Fun, yes, but difficult. Keilana sighed. It would have been so much easier with only the two of us though.  
  
You say that as if you've got something up your sleeve.  
  
Well, of course. Haven't you noticed the amount of space in this ship that has gone unaccounted for? She is a frigate after all. Keilana's lips curved into a smile and she shrugged. Now, I need you to put your talents to good use and find out where they are while I go break the news to Skywalker.  
  
  
  
Well, you can detect black holes easily enough, I assume finding an ysalamiri's void is somewhat similar. Keilana made a gesture with her hand. Kyp sighed.  
  
I can't promise anything, but I'll give it a shot.  
  
Good, that's all I ask for. Keilana nodded and turned from the room as Kyp settled in the middle of the floor to start his meditation. He ignored the dead bodies of the Geonosians and the sand as he focused his energies on finding the twins.  
  
Taking long strides through the starboard corridor, Keilana turned into the outrigger cockpit and took a seat in the pilot's couch. She pulled on her headpiece and started warming up the communication system. As soon as it came up, Keilana let out a sigh and hailed the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. A young Jedi she didn't recognized answered the holocomm.  
  
Isn't this Master Skywalker's private frequency? Keilana asked, her brow furrowed.  
  
the female Twi'lek answered in accented Basic. But I can connect you to him if you wish.  
  
Keilana said. The image of the young woman disappeared and, within a few moments, was replaced by Luke Skywalker. He stood silent for a moment before making a gesture. His expression was serious.  
  
he said in greeting. I assume you are contacting me to give me an update about the disturbance we've felt? My sister is quite beside herself with the twins' distress.  
  
I am, Master, Keilana said with a nod. We have a bit of asituation on our hands.  
  
What, pray tell, is that supposed to mean?  
  
Well, after being chased out of the Lye Cluster—  
  
What were you doing there? Luke interrupted. "You were supposed to travel to Naboo.  
  
Of course, Master, but there was someone on the planet Lye whom I knew to have the most updated information on Trigen. He proved worthy and, while attempting to leave, I was recognized as a wanted criminal and they chased me out of the system. There's some bad blood where I'm concerned in that Cluster but everything turned out perfectly all right.  
  
Luke gave Keilana a disappointed look before sighing and shaking his head. "Well, what has been done is done. While I am disappointed, it sounds as if you might have discovered something by going against the plans.  
  
I did, Master, however  
  
I don't like the sound of that, Keilana.  
  
Keilana continued. We were not simply chased out of system. The Royal Guard was trying to, well, to destroy us—  
  
  
  
—and I was forced to land on Geonosis with malfunctioning engines. Keilana watched the image of Luke as he took his forehead in his left hand in exasperation.  
  
It seems as if disaster only follows in your wake, Keilana. Please tell me that the Lyians don't know that you are on a mission for the Jedi. Keilana's silence gave Luke his answer. How many?  
  
Three pilots of the Royal Guard which includes their leader. She is, coincidentally, the fiancée of my informer and the daughter of the Head Advisor and Prime Minister under the King.  
  
Luke began to rub his temples. Just tell me what happened to cause the disturbance?  
  
That was caused by the Geonosians. They attacked us and have captured Jacen and Jaina.  
  
If Luke Skywalker had had a deity to speak with, now would have been the time. However, what anger Luke might have felt was not obvious. He simply shook his head, his grave disappointment obvious in his features.  
  
Just tell me that you have a plan to rescue them?  
  
Of course I do. Kyp is working on finding them now, since they took my ysalamiri with them, and the Lyians are preparing themselves to help us. Lady Seva Caiterina might dislike me, but she's a good soldier. And that is the reason the three Lyian's know. I had to tell them, though, I certainly didn't expect their help in return.  
  
Luke took in a deep breath of air and released it slowly. How exactly were the twin's captured?  
  
While Kyp and I were outside my ship speaking with the Lyians, the natives attacked. I assume it was a distraction so that they could enter my ship but I hardly believe they could have imagined what they would find there. I know that the Yuuzhan Vong want the twins and I wouldn't put it past the Geonosians to have joined forces with them. They've made some shady dealings in the past, but that's besides the point. As soon as Kyp has any idea as to where they've gone or in what direction they're heading, we'll be on our way.  
  
Luke nodded, his disappointment still obvious.  
  
The two sat in silence for a moment just looking at each other, neither knowing exactly what to say. Before either had the chance to break the uncomfortable silence, Kyp stuck his head into the cockpit and looked at Keilana.  
  
I've got a heading, he said, nodding to the miniscule image of his master. Luke could not see him, but he did look at Keilana as she turned away from him to look at Kyp.  
  
  
  
Kyp found them.  
  
Then may the Force be with you, Luke said just before he disappeared.  
  
I'm guessing that it didn't go well, Kyp said as soon as Keilana joined him in the lounge.  
  
What do you think, Kyp? We've disobeyed orders and now the twins have been kidnapped. He certainly wasn't jumping for joy. Keilana gave Kyp a tired look as she started to gather an assortment of tools.  
  
Pulling on a pair of fingerless gloves, Keilana motioned towards the general direction of the hatch before heading that way. Kyp followed closely behind her.  
  
The three Lyians were standing huddled together and conversing in low tones when Kyp and Keilana approached. Seva barked some last minute instructions to the other two in their odd language before turning away from them.  
  
I assume you two are ready? Good. Seva had removed her cape and the cords that marked her as part of the Royal Guard; her pilots had done the same. They were now wearing no colour other than black. There was even black paint smeared on their cheeks and forehead. Obviously they had also been trained in ways other than merely piloting. How do you presume we travel? The nearest spirehive is twenty kilometers away and would take nearly a full day to reach on foot.  
  
Keilana shook her head. They aren't heading towards the nearest spirehive, she said. She pointed to the southwest—the directly opposite direction. That's were they are heading.  
  
But those are at least twice as far as any of the others.  
  
Now, I didn't say that the bugs had any sense, Seva Caiterina, I simply said that that's the way they are heading.  
  
We'll never catch up to them.  
  
Oh, I think we will. Though, one of us will have to stay behind unless someone feels like getting cozy with his neighbors.  
  
Seva narrowed her eyes as everybody turned their gaze on Keilana. She gave them a smile and turned on her heel. Jogging around the parameter of her ship, Keilana came to a halt near the aft on the port side. Reaching up above her head and raising herself onto her toes, Keilana slid a panel out of the way with one key code and entered another password into the control panel she had just revealed. With a hiss that was accompanied by the steady tempo of a pulsating red light, a hidden compartment lowered to reveal two S-7 swoop bikes.  
  
Keilana explained as the small landing pad continued to lower, they were only made for one person each, but I think we might just be able to squeeze two people on them. So, that leaves the question, which of you two, she said, pointing at Seva's soldiers,is willing to stay behind and guard the ships?  
  
Before either one of them could answer, Seva turned to them and pointed at the man.  
  
You stay, Aklahn. We'll need Cera's stealth more than your strength for this. Besides, the swoops are small and we need the most speed we can possibly muster out of them.  
  
Naakatii, tan'Likna (Of course, your Grace), the male pilot said. He bowed low and ducked into the night. Seva gave a nod and turned back to Keilana who was checking over the bikes.  
  
How do you propose we split up?  
  
You and me on one bike; Kyp and your lieutenant on the other.  
  
How did you decide on a seating arrangement so quickly?  
  
One, because Cera is the smallest and Kyp the largest and you and I, Seva Caiterina, are the same size. Two, I don't trust you and want to keep an eye on you. Keilana gave Seva a half smile as she crouched to inspect the bike closest to her. She moved to the other bike quickly before throwing a set of keys to Kyp. I assume you know how to pilot one of these?  
  
If they are anything like other bikes, then yes I do.  
  
Keilana pulled her goggles down over her eyes and mounted the bike nearest her. She motioned for the others to follow her lead. Seva slowly climbed her way onto the bike, her arms wrapped around Keilana's torso. They were much closer than comfortable but the bike's small frame didn't allow them to sit on it in any other way. Keilana glanced over at the other bike; Kyp and Cera were in a similar situation. Turning her attention back to her own vehicle, Keilana leaned low over the body of the bike and started it up. With a hum, all of the systems came online. Revving the engine, Keilana motioned for Kyp to follow her before she pressed down on the acceleration pad. The bike shot forward into the night, kicking up sand in its wake. Pressing a button under her thumb, the ship they just left started to purr. The air around the _Scrimshaw_ started to glow as her weapon systems came online.  
  
You might want to warn your pilot to stay at least seven meters away from my ship if he wants to stay alive! She yelled over to wind to Seva. She felt the other woman's nod on her shoulder and the slight movement it took to locate a commlink. Keilana ignored everything further and concentrated on were she was going.  
  
---  
  
Keilana said under her breath. She handed a pair of binoculars to Kyp who was laying in the sand next to her. They were stretched out on their stomachs on the edge of a cliff watching a group of Geonosians moving across the valley floor beneath them. Seva was on Keilana's left, Cera on Kyp's right. Keilana and Kyp had been passing a pair of microbinoculars between them, trying to focus in on the group. They were sure that these were the ones who had kidnapped the twins and, sure enough, Keilana had been the one to spot the cart holding the unconscious siblings. It was attached to the back of a speeder bearing several of the natives. The rest of the large group were riding one- and two-man speeder bikes. As far as the humans could tell, the aliens had not spotted them.  
  
The twin's look unharmed, Kyp concluded as he put the binoculars down. And their pace has slowed considerably.  
  
Keilana nodded. They had been tracking this group for the past several hours, keeping them just on the horizon. I think we're getting close to where ever they came from.  
  
But there are no spirehives around, Seva said in low tones. Keilana turned to regard her.  
  
They could be operating out of a remote location or on their own. I'm sure not every bug lives in the hive.  
  
I'm pretty sure they're hive minded, bounty hunter, which would make it very probable that they do, in fact, live in one of the hives.  
  
Fine, whatever. Maybe there's something else they're slowing down for, Keilana brought the binoculars up to her eyes again and began to search the valley. Though, what it is, I've no idea. There's nothing else out here except us and them andoh no.  
  
Oh no? I don't like the sound of oh no, Keilana, Kyp said. He grabbed the binoculars out of Keilana's grip and brought them to his eyes.  
  
he muttered.  
  
I think I like the sound of _oh no_ better, Durron, Seva said. Go back to that.  
  
Too late, Keilana said. A great screech filled the air as a large shadow swooped down towards them in the predawn light. The group scattered as the creature punched at the ground. We've got a nhala on us now. I guess the bugs have been alerted to our presence since these are their pets.  
  
I'd say that is a very good assumption, Kyp said as he pushed himself up from the sand. The others followed him back to the waiting bikes. As soon as everybody was on, Keilana and Kyp took off towards the cliff's edge.  
  
What do you think you are doing! Seva yelled above the rush of air and the screech of the nhala.  
  
I'm getting us out of here! You just concentrate on getting that thing away from us. Keilana looked up at the giant, reptilian creature that was preparing for another pass just before she led the swoop bike over the edge of the cliff. Seva's arms were clamped tightly around her midsection as they screeched down the side of the cliff in a suicide dive toward the ground. Gritting her teeth, Keilana manhandled the bike into the correct position to continue their ride along the ground rather than into it. The bike jinked back and forth in protest and threatened to tip its passengers off before Keilana gained control. Only then did she look back to see how the others were doing. Kyp had had less of a problem than Keilana and was now pulling up along side her. The nhala was still on their tail.  
  
Get your blaster ready, Seva! Keilana called back to her passenger. She could feel Seva loosen her grip to reach for the weapon holstered against her thigh. Under her breath, Keilana counted to three before forcing her bike into a tight circle to head straight for the flying creature. Kyp mimicked her maneuver in the opposite direction. Both bikes came out of the bank at the exact moment their secondary passengers began firing upon the surprised beast.  
  
It was Seva who dealt the killing blow. The creature died before it hit the ground between the two bikes, creating a long crevasse where it fell and skid. Keilana felt the Lyian's relief like a tidal wave. She also felt another one of the creatures approaching from the south.  
  
The Geonosian's are getting away, Keilana! Kyp yelled above the wind. Keilana pulled up next to him and shook her head.  
  
We've got another winged problem to deal with first. She pointed at the other creature. This one was larger than the first and the colour of the desert sand. I think we've stumbled across a nest cause that looks like an awfully mad female.  
  
Kyp swore. It was becoming more obvious as time went by that Kyp was growing tired of chasing the Geonosians. He simply wanted to find the twins and get back to the ship as soon as possible. Why is nothing ever simple around you?  
  
I don't know. Faulty luck? Keilana managed a smile. Anyway, this one isn't going down without a real fight. We've got to get off these things and help out. Keilana set a grim smile on her face before skidding to a halt. Before the bike had properly stopped, Keilana locked the brake in place and leapt out of the seat, Seva on her heel. She pulled out both of her blasters and slowly advanced on the creature flying towards them. She was ready to fight. Her muscles were bunched in anticipation and she could feel the adrenaline pulse through her with each passing moment.  
  
As if the creature could sense this, she landed ten meters away from the bikes and cocked her head to the side, studying the humans. Her front limbs, which worked as both wings and front legs at their final joint, danced slightly before she started to paw the ground. There was no saying what was keeping the creature in her place just as there was no explanation as to why Keilana continued to advance on the animal that was four times her size.  
  
Kyp ran up to her side and grabbed her shoulder to stop her progress. Keilana tried to jerk away from him but Kyp proved too strong.  
  
Where the hell to you think you're going? Kyp tightened his grip on Keilana. She turned to look at him, her brow furrowed. She opened her mouth to say something but, before the words could escape, Keilana gave a gasping cry and gripped the sides of her head. Her blasters fell forgotten to the dust. The nhala hardly blinked an eye.  
  
Kyp kneeled next to her and shook her shoulder but Keilana did not respond. She was lost somewhere in her mind  
  
_The sand started to swirl around her, pulling at her hair and tugging at her clothing. She was standing in the middle of a dust storm with no idea where to turn or what to look at. But she was not afraid, for she was not alone. She could feel his presence behind her even though she could not see him, and she could hear the rasp of his breath as he tried to draw from the sand clogged air.  
  
It is rather amazing, he said slowly after a moment. His accent was familiar; it was like her own. The tone of his voice held the same harsh qualities that she had grown accustomed to over the years but at the same time it had the gentleness she had sought but never won. When she turned to look at him, he placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her. She received only a glimpse of dark hair and silver armour.  
  
What is? She asked. The sand continued to whip around them but the air in which they stood was calm.  
  
When they told me I could have a son, I never imagined that my line would continue beyond him. He wastoo eager to train with weapons and to kill. He held every quality that I had suppressed for most of my life until they came in handy. Boba was too open in his hate, just like one of yours. Boba, he laughed, Boba was selfish. He had everything until he lost it all, but you had nothing from the start. You had nothing to lose. You are more like me than my son ever was.  
  
Who are you? She asked, attempting to turn once again. He simply turned with her, keeping just out of her sight at all times.  
  
You know who I am.  
  
That's not what I meant, she said slowly, quietly. She paused, hardly able to believe she was about to admit it. I meant... I never had anything to hold on to, I've never had anything of my own. I was given the chance at one identity and nothing else. Whoam I?  
  
You know more about yourself than those you surround yourself with, my dear. They all have false images of themselves and have placed themselves on pedestals of righteousness. They will not accept who they are. But you are more real than most. You may not have been given a choice but you embraced what little you were given and you put your soul into becoming who you are. And who you are is what you are. There is no façade. You do not play the masque like most people in the galaxy do. You do not have to be afraid of it anymore, even if what you do has changed.  
  
I've never been afraid of anything.  
  
But you've lived your life afraid of who you are and, now, afraid of what you've become. You've had nightmares about your future and what it held and when those dreams became reality, you did everything in your power to push them away and to be who you were told to be. Do not be afraid to hurt him by pushing him away.  
  
I do not harbor any ill feelings for the Jedi. They were doing what they had to do and I was simply a casualty. I knew it would come someday and all I can say is at least I died fighting rather than rotting. Boba never forgave them for what they took from him. He loved too much. He went on to detach himself from any feelings but hate and anger. And by the time you came to him, he had forgotten how to love. He feared you for what emotions you were able to bring to the surface and he detested you for making him weak. He did not want you to love or to be able to love because he was afraid that you would lose him just as he lost me. He did not want that pain for you. And in the process of detaching you from feeling, he learned to love again. But then you turned around and hurt him more than anything I or anyone else could have ever done to him; you became who you were born to be. He did not know what flowed through his daughter's veins and he was too blind to see the things that you did as a child for their truth. You are real, my darling, but you are living a lie because you do not want to give in to the truth.  
  
What are you trying to say?  
  
Let go. You do not have to be afraid to hurt him anymore.  
  
I've never been afraid  
  
Be who you were meant to be.  
  
I am nothing but a bounty hunterscum. There is nothing more real than that; there is no lie in what I am. I am _not_ a Jedi, I am not what they want me to become. Do not force me to be one. I have people who do that already. I have no destiny beyond dying in some hole just like the rest of my kind. I am not special, I never have been. I am not what they want me to be. I am She shut her eyes against her tears. Why can't anyone see that? Why won't they just give up on me and let me leave? Let me live? I don't want to be a part of their world. I hate too much to ever embrace their peace.  
  
He squeezed her shoulder as if in embrace but remained silent.  
  
What do you want with me?  
  
Nothing beyond being able to watch you and to tell you to let go of your childhood and your father. They are not relevant anymore. They have helped shape you but will now only hold you back. You have so much more to do.  
  
I don't want to do anything beyond being able to live my life as I choose to.  
  
Your life is theirs now.  
  
  
  
Listen. I do not exist in your Force and none of your friends can sense me. I live beyond death here in a place that will never reach my redemption. I am but a memory of this planet. But you have to move on from that and erase my memory from your mind. I am only doing to you what your father is. Let go of everything, my dear, just let go.  
  
She furrowed her brow and spun towards him. He did not turn with her this time. Instead, he disappeared with the swirling dust. She had not been able to catch even a glance of him nor of the armour he wore. A shrill screech resounded through the air and the dust caught her once again. She felt more alone than ever before_  
  
Keilana let go of her temples and she looked up from the ground, her eyes growing clearer with each passing moment. She did not look for Kyp or her companions but for the nhala that had not moved. The female stretched out her long neck towards the humans and turned her head to watch them closely, her rust coloured hide shining brilliantly in the morning light. Her great eye was a whirlpool of blue and green, swirling like a storm but peaceful as could be. Blinking once, the creature took to the air and disappeared beyond the great cliffs that rose into the sky around the small group of humans. None of them spoke for a long while.  
  
Standing up, Keilana remained silent as she turned back to the bikes, her pace slow. Kyp noticed something different in the way she moved and how she interacted with her surroundings. It was as if she were fighting herself for control. She seemed confused, lost.  
  
He had never seen anything like it.  
  
--------  
A/N: Hmmm 


	10. Into the Labyrinth of the Mind

A/N: This chapter took _way too long_ to write. Ugh. However, it is pretty long so perhaps that will make up for it (31 pages in Word). I've actually been writing it since the last update, honestly. I just got busy with Real Life and experienced minor writer's block until Phantom of the Opera was released into the theaters. -sighs and pets Erik- I like you even more now, yum. Anyway...

One of these days I'll put up the list of songs that I tend to listen to while writing. Some of them might enhance the reading experience like Velvet Revolver's "Slither" during chase scenes. Or perhaps some Linkin Park, such as "Breaking the Habit" which I have labeled "Jaina's Song". If you don't understand, read the lyrics and then look at my characterization of Jaina Solo. Maybe it's only me but…yeah. Right. Story...

-

Into the Labyrinth of the Mind  


The Coruscanti underworld was a place full of thieves and whores, seedy bars and slimy businessmen. There were creatures the size of small children and aliens of every colour, size, and description. People from the upper levels of the city avoided this place for its stink and nobody but the fallen dwelled among the caverns.

Fallen Jedi included.

She had been a bright pupil in her days at the Academy and everybody had expected great things from her. She had studied since she was a child and had been on the brink of Knighthood when she had been faced with temptation. Though she had spent her life with the Jedi, her people's love of a better deal had been her downfall. When the Arm had contacted her about ridding the Temple of a threat, she took the job without a second thought. What better way to earn esteem and to graduate to the rank of Knight than expose a traitor among their midst? But her plan had failed. In the eyes of the Jedi she was dead and the traitor was a hero. With her death and life, Llywen du Kiins had been touched by the Dark Side and it now filled her with hate. Her golden eyes now glowed with a ring of fire as the power of her newfound ally burned through her veins. She was invincible.

She was also quite paranoid. Glancing over her shoulder, Llywen paused in mid-stride. She had come to this place to watch those she hunted and to hide from anyone who would recognize her. Here the minds were weak and she could bend them as her will commanded. She was superior. And someone was watching her. Had the Jedi found her out? Were they here to finish her off once and for all?

Llywen's tail whipped through the air above her head. She was sure someone was there. Searching the dark for the source of the noise, she bared her teeth. Gnashing them, she stood up and continued across the exposed beams and girders of a long burned down building. The durasteel was cool under her bare feet as she picked her way around the charred and twisted metal that had been left from a fire long ago. The suspended death of this building was beautiful in the faint moonlight that penetrated the upper levels of the Lower City.

Her progress was slow and calculated as she traversed the frame, her tail in constant motion to check her balance. She leapt up to the twisted decking of the floor above her and paused again, a breeze brushing her cheek. The air was no longer stale at this level and Coruscant's main streets were in view, as was the Academy. She smiled. It seemed almost too easy. The money was hers and the bitch who had ruined her life would pay dearly. She unconsciously ran a hand over the long scar on her neck. It would take a lot for her to forget the face of Keilana Fett.

-

Keilana had been silent since they had started following the Geonosians again and Kyp was worried. He had never seen her so silent for so long. They were on their fourth hour now.

"Look," Seva said, interrupting his thoughts. "I think we have found them."

After the nhala attack, the small group of humans had lost sight of the kidnappers. Kyp could hardly feel the void created by the ysalamiri and when one of the Lyians had pointed out that it could be dying both he and Keilana had shaken their heads. If the ysalalmiri had died then they would be able to feel the twins. No one had any idea what was going on.

Upon Seva's observation, Keilana gunned her engines and shot forward, stirring up the sand around them and covering them all in fine silt. Kyp adjusted his goggles and pressed down on the acceleration to keep up. He stayed in perfect sync with Keilana and it was as if the two had joined minds despite the fact that Keilana had shut down and was barely a flicker in the Force.

The group traveled for another hour or so, catching up bit by bit. They had just reached a distance that was close enough to determine that this was the correct group when the ground opened up beneath the natives and they disappeared from sight. Keilana attempted to muster every last bit of speed out of her bike but was too slow. The hanger door closed just before she could get through. Growling low in her throat, Keilana shut off the bike and leapt away from it, landing nimbly on her feet.

"_Fuck!_" She screamed, her fists clenched. She didn't take notice to the fact that her bike made a sickening sound as it skid across the metal nor that Seva had been thrown painfully to the ground by her sudden move. The older woman sat up and held her left arm. The shoulder was disconnected.

Kyp was about to step off his bike to help the Lyian woman when the ground opened up beneath the two women and Keilana and Seva disappeared into the dark.

-

"Ti'Kanlla! (My Lady!)" Cera screamed. She leapt off the bike and ran to the spot her captain had disappeared. She turned to Kyp, her eyes wide. "Tika, _Jeedi_, tika yan ten hunta?"

Approaching her slowly Kyp shook his head. "I don't speak your language."

"Teekla, I'm sorry." Cera said. Her basic was heavily accented and, as she continued, halting but clear. "I asked if is she hunta…alive…"

Kyp nodded. "They are both alive if not worse for wear."

"Worse! What is worse than kilna…injur-ed…if not dead? We have to find her!"

"Don't worry, Cera, as soon as we can find a way inside then we will go looking for her."

"And how do we get inside?" Cera stood up straighter, her military training coming back to her. The panicked woman disappeared in an instant. "As far as I can tell this is the only entranc-eh."

"Kyp shook his head. "No, there have to be smaller surface entrances in the vicinity. This is only the hanger. We need to find the back door."

"And where do we go serr…searching for this entranc-eh?" She furrowed her brow, frustrated with her inability to speak Basic clearly.

"I would say our best bet is along the cliffs. They're big but are really the only logical place to search."

Cera nodded and straightened her short flight jacket. She walked across the sand and looked back at Kyp over her shoulder. "Well, should we not begin?"

"Yes, of course." He turned back to the remaining bike and threw his leg over. Looking towards Cera, he motioned with his head and she jogged to his side. As soon as she had settled behind him, Kyp stepped down on the acceleration and they shot across the surface towards the cliffs.

-

When she regained her consciousness, the first thought through Keilana's mind was: _Fuuuuuuuucckk… _And then, rightfully: _Ow…_

She pushed herself up from the ground and batted her hair out of her eyes. It was dark, nearly pitch black. The only light was faint and pulsating as if it came from a living organism. They were not in a hanger.

Keilana blinked for a moment and looked to the left. Seva was laying there, unmoving, her left arm twisted at an odd angle. It was broken. Crawling across the dusty floor, Keilana sat on her haunches and pushed Seva's hair out of her face. The Lyian woman groaned as her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Keilana. At first, Seva looked confused and then surprise flashed across her face. She pushed herself up and would have cried out in pain had Keilana not covered her mouth. Placing a single finger over her lips, she lowered her hand.

"If we're were I think we are, then we're in a lot of trouble."

"And were is that?"

"In the caverns deep underneath a spirehive."

"That does not sound good, bounty hunter."

Keilana nodded. "The tunnels are, for all intents and purposes, a labyrinth. This way, rather than having a public execution, they can claim that they don't know what happened to us, or, at least you. I'm nothing special, but I'm sure they know exactly who you are."

Seva opened her mouth to say something before giving Keilana an odd look, her brow furrowed. "How do you know where we are."

"I just know, all right?" Keilana crossed her arms, indicating that she wasn't going to explain. "Don't ask again."

"All right." Seva pulled away from Keilana. It was not until she tried to push herself up with her left arm did Seva notice it was injured. She cried out in pain and held onto the broken limb. Sitting back in the dirt, Seva watched Keilana as the younger woman turned back to look at her.

"Injured, your Grace?"

"My arm is broken."

"Yes, I figured." Keilana crossed the ground to Seva and pulled off her long jacket. Pulling out a knife, the bounty hunter ripped off a strip of leather and cloth from the bottom and told the older woman to give her the broken arm so that she could set and dress it. Seva hesitated before giving her arm over to Keilana.

"Well, this will certainly make things a little more difficult," Keilana said, her voice condescending.

"I'm not some powder puff, bounty hunter. I've been training with the military since I've been old enough. I am captain of the of the Naval Royal Guard because I am the best. Don't you think that a broken arm will hold me back."

"Oh, I doubt it will, your Grace, but might I remind you that this is broken in two places and no matter how tough you are or how well trained you are, a badly broken arm will slow us down." Keilana gave the last knot a jerk before standing up and turning her back on Seva. She didn't even bother to mention the fact that she had medicine to deaden the pain. The other woman had made it quite clear that she could deal with the pain. Chuckling to herself, Keilana started to check for her weapons and swore when she realized her knife and a pea-blaster were the only weapons she had left.

"Seva," she said, "do you have any of your weapons?" She could hear Seva shuffle around before she received an answer.

"Only a few small throwing knives," Seva said.

"Wonderful. This will only make things more fun." Keilana knelt down to check her boot and swore softly.

"Keilana?"

"Yes?" She said, not turning around.

"What is that on your back?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your tattoo. I think I've seen it somewhere before."

Keilana reached around and touched the spot where a red, horned animal skull had been grafted to her skin. The tattoo had been inked and removed a countless number of time due of her indecision about whether or not to keep it. Keilana would have to have the patch of skin removed if she wanted the faded tattoo completely gone. She had considered it, but having a ghosted image of her father's symbol seemed oddly appropriate for her to have.

"It's something from my past," she said quietly. "It means nothing now." Keilana was silent for a moment before standing up and looking at Seva over her shoulder. "We should get to finding our way out of here."

"Wouldn't an exit be somewhere around us?"

Keilana shook her head. "No. If there is one, it's way up there." Keilana pointed up in to the space above them. "And I doubt we'll be making our way ten meters straight up into the air anytime soon in our current state of being."

"Yes, right. Is there another exit?"

"There is," Keilana said simply. "We just have to find it before they find us."

"_They_?"

Keilana was about to say something when the grunting cry of a large creature echoed through the caves around them. "The bugs like to keep pets of the big, ugly, hungry sort. They generally have sharp claws and big teeth. I'd suggest we get a move on so that we can keep one step ahead of the minotaur."

"I highly doubt the Geonosians have minotaurs, Keilana. They're mythical creatures."

Keilana shrugged as long growl reached their ears. "I'm only sayin', but if you want to hang around here, you'll be enjoying the dark all on your own."

Seva pursed her lips before standing up.

"And how do you suggest we go about finding our way out of here?"

"Follow the lichen," Keilana said, pointing at the walls; Seva followed the gesture with her eyes. Though she had been aware of the faint, pulsating light source, she hadn't questioned where it was coming from.

"I guess that could make sense."

"Of course. And if we get lost, well…" Keilana just trailed off with a gesture of her hand.

"That's reassuring."

"Yeah, I know." Keilana grinned like a child before turning around and walking down a faintly lit corridor of stone.

-

Llywen du Kiins had climbed out of the Lower City and was now standing in the alley between two enormous buildings. Here on the ground level, the buildings were mainly clubs and bars, but as they progressed higher, they became restaurants and offices, studios, apartments, and finally penthouses that touched the clouds. She was on the boundary between two sectors; housing to her left, government to her right. She had to decide between life and death and, despite everything that was telling her to choose the life of the clubs, she had a job to do. Giving one last wistful look at the club directly across from her, Llywen looked towards the sky and leapt.

She used the Force to push herself as far as she could before slowing her ascent and gingerly touching the wall, testing the grip of her gloves. Flattening her palms against the metal, and bringing the soles of her climbing shoes against the wall, she let go of herself, bracing for a fall. When it did not come, she smiled and started to move slowly up the wall, never quite trusting her gloves or shoes.

As soon as she reached the first balcony, Llywen swung herself up on top of it and rested for a few moments, taking in the city from her new vantage point. She was now hundreds of feet above the ground floor of this building and at least a couple thousand feet from her point of origin, if not more. The air up here was chilling and the wind strong. Llywen knew that she would have to move on quickly before the wind picked up and before the occupants in the lit room beyond the window noticed her. Standing, she took two large, quick steps to the edge of the balcony, jumped up onto the high railing and leapt, outstretched, into space. She reached for the building across the way and gave herself a push with the Force so that she would not fall out of the air. She managed to grab hold of the railing of a balcony one story down from where she had been with one hand. Her shoulder jerked painfully as it caught her weight. The Fin Ghula hung there in space for a moment before scurrying to the underside of the balcony as the occupants of both the balcony she had left and the balcony that had broken her fall came outside. Snips of conversations in both Bothan and Basic drifted down to her ended with a man directly above her muttering: "Those damn buildering youth, out here in the middle of the night. They're just asking for a broken neck." His female companion snorted in agreement before they went back inside. Llywen blew out a sigh of relief and waited a few minutes longer before continuing on her way.

Llywen climbed for another hour before finally scrambling onto the roof. From here, she could see for miles, but that was not what she was focusing on. Standing out in the dark in all of its shining glory, was the Jedi Temple, Llywen's old home. She smiled as she stood on the parapet, her hands raised above her head, gripping a bar that stood out from a nearby wall. She sighed as she stepped down from the edge and started her way across the rooftops towards the Jedi Temple, a beacon of light in the dark.

-

"Ee-ugh." Seva brought the back of her hand up to her nose. "What is that horrendous stench?"

"Another prisoner," Keilana said quite calmly. Seva rounded the corner and frowned. Keilana was rooting through the clothing of a corpse that was in the advanced stages of decomposition. While Seva was close to retching, Keilana seemed perfectly fine.

"Find anything…useful?" Seva choked out.

"Just a dagger the bugs seemed to have missed." Keilana pulled this out of the corpse's boot and wiped it off on a piece of torn cloak. "Do you want it?"

Seva shook her head. "No, no I'm good."

"You sure?" Keilana stood up and approached the other woman.

"Very."

"Okay, your Grace," Keilana walked past Seva as she tucked the dagger between her belt and her person. Seva watched as Keilana disappeared into the corridor they had just left and quickly followed after her.

"Shouldn't we explore that tunnel?"

"Only if you want to end up like that guy back there," Keilana said as she gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. "That stink was partially from the creature that killed him. The glorne spider gives off a distinctive odor and it just grew stronger the further down I went." Keilana shrugged. "Besides, it dead-ends before too long."

Seva paused and watched Keilana as the bounty hunter continued on her way. How did Keilana know these tunnels so well…? Shaking her head, Seva followed Keilana.

They traveled in silence for another hour or so before Keilana threw out her arm to stop Seva.

The Lyian paused and glanced at Keilana. "What is it?"

"Shh… Stay here for a moment." Keilana crept forward and touched the tunnel wall. She glanced around the corner quickly before drawing back and motioning for Seva to come over.

"So, you don't believe in mythical creatures?" Keilana said in a low voice.

"No. Why?"

Keilana smiled and gestured with her chin. "Because one is shuffling about just around the corner."

"Shuffling about?"

"He's only young." Keilana said as if Seva should have known. "Looks like he was just kicked out of the nest too. He's probably exploring the caves to find a hole of his own."

Seva opened her mouth and closed it again before shaking her head. "If you are pulling my leg, Hunter…" She stepped around Keilana peered around the corner. Her mouth dropped and her eyes widened in surprise as she turned back to Keilana. "That's… What is that?"

"A minotaur. True, they aren't quite like the myths, but here they are."

Seva pursed her lips and peered around the corner once more. The creature there was leaning forward on his front legs, his large hands lightly touching the rough ground; Seva could see that he generally stood erect on only two legs. With an elongated almost feline face face, and a slender body covered in fine, tan fur, this was not the creature Seva had been told about as a young child. In place of hooves, he had long feet and supported his weight on the balls of his feet and toes. The horns that sat on top of his head were small and not yet fully developed, indicating that he was nearing maturity. He also had a naturally cropped tail that was wagging slowly as he sniffed at a partial human skeleton. Grunting softly to himself, the minotaur swung at the skull and started to follow it down the hall to where it clattered against the wall opposite the two women.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Seva turned to look at Keilana. Keilana only shrugged.

"I'm open to suggestions."

Seva frowned. "Tell me what you know about them."

"Well, they're big and strong and they rather like to eat meat," Keilana seemed to shrug with her words.

"Are they intelligent?"

"I'm sure they are."

"I mean, do they have language?"

"Sure, though I doubt it's one that I'm familiar with."

"So we're stuck then?"

"Looks like it." Keilana frowned and Seva shook her head.

"You do know that he's coming this way."

"No, actually I didn't. Is he?" Keilana and Seva switched places so that Keilana could glance around the corner. The minotaur was right there, looking at her, his head tilted to the side as if he were curious about the humans.

"_Ii'klanka!_" Keilana swore in Mandalorian as she leapt backwards and drew her knives. The bounty hunter was unsure of whether she was more surprised by the minotaur's sudden appearance or if he was more spooked by her curses and weapons. Regardless, the minotaur let out a guttural, reverberating grunting sound before leaping directly towards the two women…

-

"I do not see an entranc-eh, Jedi," Cera said, turning towards Kyp. "We have bee-n searching for over three ausos."

"Did you expect bright neon signs and arrows?" Kyp said through clenched teeth. For the past three hours, Kyp had been calling on all of his years of training to restrain himself from strangling the Lyian. Nothing but complaints had been coming out of her mouth since they had started searching for a way inside the spirehive. At first they had been few and far between but now they were coming almost constantly.

"No, but… Couldn't you not use your special powers to find one?"

"They don't work quiet like that, Cera."

"My name is Cera Laana," she said quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"Call me Cera Laana, Jedi," she said harshly. "You are not a friend, only an acquain-tee-ance so therefore you should to address me by my first two names."

Kyp sighed and jumped down from his vantage point. He approached Cera slowly and narrowed his eyes. "Look, throw me a bone, okay? We are on this mission together and we have to work together and that generally means that we have to sacrifice a few things to make things go smoothly. Give up on your formalities for a few more hours and just let me call you what it is easiest to call you."

Kyp tried not to allow his emotions intervene with his words but it was proving hard. Cera crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes as well.

"And what is it that you have had to sac-ree-fice?"

"The knowledge that I am in complete control of my emotions around those who grind me the wrong way." Kyp was tempted to snort in her face but he quickly abandoned the idea. He didn't want to seem childish. Turning around, Kyp climbed up to where he had come from and started to crawl along the wall. "I think there is an opening just around the corner here."

"Really?" Cera jogged around the corner below Kyp and scrambled up the wall. She stood on the small ledge waiting for Kyp. As soon as he was around, she stepped toward the crack but Kyp grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Let me go first."

"I'm capable of taking care of myself."

"I'm sure you are, but just let me go in. I'll be able to tell if someone is approaching or if we are about to tumble over an edge."

"I thought your powers didn't work like that." Kyp gave Cera a hard glare before unclipping his lightsaber from his belt and stepping into the opening. Cera sighed but followed close behind.

They walked in silence for a long time before Kyp paused. He held up a finger for silence and glanced over the edge of the cliff they had been walking along. Far below them through clearing mist several bugs were chittering at each other. They seemed to be having a fight and were far too distracted to noticed the humans far above their heads. After a moment, Kyp started to edge along the wall once more, careful to not knock any small stones off. He paused when a couple of pebbles rattled towards the edge. Before they could fall over, he calmed them with the Force. Cea looked at him with wide eyes but remained silent.

A few moments later they stepped off the edge and into a dark, tight corridor. Kyp paused to catch his breath, which he had been holding for the last several minutes. Cera leaned over and put her hands on her knees. She glanced up at Kyp, her eyes catching what little light there was in the corridor.

"Do you have any idea where we are going?"

"No,"Kyp said, shaking his head. Cera sighed and stood up.

"Then why do you continue?"

"Because I can feel her."

"Who?"

"You know very well who," Kyp snapped. He looked back at Cera before disappearing into the dark.

-

…And right over their heads. Keilana spun on her heal and gasped; a gigantic glorne spider was no more than five meters behind them. Somehow, in her fascination over actually seeing a minotaur, she had not sensed this other creature approaching them. Cursing, Keilana tightened her grip on her knives and started to approach the spider but was stopped when Seva threw out her arm to bar the younger woman's path.

"Wait," Seva said. "I want to see this without any interruption from you."

Keilana gave Seva an odd look but stayed where she was. Her grip on her knives did not loosen, however, as her gaze lingering on Seva a moment longer before turning to watch the two creatures.

The minotaur, upon reaching the spider, ran up the wall and did a back flip towards his enemy, lashing out with his heavy claws. The spider reared up and knocked the smaller creature out of the air, throwing the minotaur to the ground. A cloud of find dust filled the air, dampening the weak light of the lichen and causing the humans to cough. Through the cloud, Keilana could see the shapes of the minotaur and spider as they battled on. They were only shapes in the dark. The dust finally started to settle just as the large catlike creature was rolling out of a fall. When the minotaur climbed up off the ground, he stood at his full height of just over two meters. He didn't move nor did he make a sound; he was simply staring down the spider. And except for the _click-click_ of the spider's mandibles, the tunnel was devoid of sound. Keilana glanced at Seva out of the corner of her eyes, unsure of what to do. A question was forming on her lips when the minotaur bent towards the spider and bellowed. It started deep in his chest and filled the tunnel with a terrible sound as his cry reverberated from wall to wall. A shiver ran down Keilana's spine but the spider stood still, unfazed by the minotaur's warning. Glancing behind him, the minotaur made eye contact with Seva and gestured with his head, growling and garbling at her before turning back to the spider and producing a short knife from the long fur on his hips. The two women stood still before slowly backing away, never taking their eyes off the battle.

Once they were around the corner, but still within sight of the two creatures, Keilana confronted Seva.

"Did he actually…?" Keilana started. Seva nodded, her eyes still on the minotaur. "Why?"

"Either because he is protecting us or he has just claimed us as his own." Seva glanced at Keilana and shrugged. "But really, I haven't the clue. Who can actually get into the head of an animal?"

Keilana pressed her lips together slightly and stayed silent. She had an answer for that one but she doubted it was one that would be well received by Seva. Sighing softly, Keilana turned back to the fight that seemed to be reaching its end.

While they had been talking, the minotaur had found his way onto the spider's back. Though he could not do anything beyond hold on for dear life due to the spider's bucking, he was making progress, or so it seemed. Keilana's eyes had moved away from the two creatures to the knife that lay abandoned in the middle of the tunnel, partially buried in the dirt. She started to moved towards it but Seva grabbed the back of her jacket, stopping the other woman's her progress.

"What are you doing?"

"Attempting to help out. The minotaur doesn't have his knife." She pointed and Seva released her grip.

"Go save the day then, bounty hunter. You seem to have a knack of getting out of impossible situations."

"My father wouldn't have trained me any other way," she said without thinking about it. She was unable to catch Seva's reaction as she sprinted across the tunnel, stooping over to pick up the knife. The minotaur started to howl at her, trying to convince her to stay out of the fight, but Keilana ignored him; another thing she was good at doing. She held the blade tightly, the sharp edge digging into her forefinger, as she aimed in mid-stride. In one motion, Keilana threw the knife, pulled out her own weapon, and slid under the spider to thrust her dagger into the creature's soft abdomen. The spider, who had been silent up until this point, howled in agony and collapsed on Keilana, crushing her into the ground and soaking her in blood. She managed to keep hold of her dagger as the spider rose and started stumbling around the cavern, clawing at the knife that was stuck in one of its eyes. Before Keilana had the chance to get out of the way of the dying spider, the minotaur gripped her tightly by the shoulder and lifted her into the air. Digging his claws into her muscles and soft flesh, the minotaur threw her against the wall and held her there as he started the gesture wildly with his free hand, snorting and growling softly. Keilana, who had never been in a situation quite like this before, dropped the dagger she had been holding loosely in her hand, and stared at Seva as recognition dawned across the other woman's face.

"Wait, I know this! I know what he's saying!" She ran around the corner, gesturing with her good hand. The minotaur caught this movement out of the corner of his eyes and dropped Keilana in favor of Seva. Keilana hardly had a chance to react to the shooting pain in her tailbone as she watched Seva and the minotaur.

"How…what…fuck. What the hell are you doing?" She stood up slowly, rubbing at the pain in her rear end.

"I'm communicating with him," Seva said slowly. She had removed her broken arm from its sling and was now using it as well. "It's a form on nonverbal communication I was taught in the military. I had heard that once, a long time ago, this had been taught to a species that was unable to speak our language but was recruited as part of our military anyway due to being strong and natural fighters. They were also slaves. I can only assume they were his ancestors as his gestures are rough and unsophisticated but clear nonetheless."

She then fell silent, giving Keilana a chance to think. The silence didn't last long before Seva turned to the younger woman, a brief smile on her face.

"His name's Grrarrl—or at least that the closest we are going to get in Basic." Seva watched Keilana for a reaction and when she didn't receive one, she simply continued. "He said that he had been taught this language by his mother who had learned it from her mother and so on. He uses it when trying to communicate with people who look like us," she said with a gesture, "as his language tends to scare them…us."

Grrarrl made a repeating snorting sound and it was not until that moment that Keilana noticed the slight hand signals Seva was making. She had been translating what she was telling Keilana to Grrarrl and the minotaur was now laughing. Keilana looked at the large creature warily and started to rub her shoulder. Seva smiled.

"He says that he is sorry and that you are foolish for having taken on Faraanti, the spider. However…" Seva paused and gestured to Grrarrl. He signed back and Seva nodded. "However, he is impressed that you were able to take her down like that. He says that you are resourceful, for a human."

"Tell him thanks for me…" Keilana said dryly. She turned her back to them and started to search for her dagger in the dust. "Oh, and tell him sorry for losing his knife."

A pause. "He says that it is fine."

Having found her dagger, Keilana stood up and crossed her arms. She regarded the woman and alien in front of her for a moment. Grrarrl was making soft grunting noises as he studied her, his head tilted to one side. Gesturing with her shoulder, Keilana's gaze locked on Seva.

"Ask him if he knows a way out of here." Seva nodded and turned to the minotaur. His gaze stayed on Keilana a moment longer before touching his chin, indicating that Seva could go on. Keilana watched their short exchange, her eyes turning to Seva as the older woman turned back.

"He says that the nearest exit is under half a day's walk from here." Keilana smiled widely and started to look around in case she had dropped anything else. Her search was interrupted as Seva continued. "However, as it is nearly dark on the surface, he says that we should sleep in the tunnels tonight and make our way to the surface a few hours before the sun raises. I suggest you get to telling your Jedi friend that he should stay put."

Keilana, though obviously deflated about the idea of having to spend the night in the tunnels, shook her head curtly. "The Force doesn't work like that, Seva. I can't just tell him to stay where he is. I could try to form images in my mind and send those to him, but my thoughts are too thoroughly scrambled at the moment to make any sort of sense. Also, I can't feel him. In fact, I can barely feel you two. The Force is somewhat dampened here, though I hardly believe it is that fact that there is hardly any life." Keilana paused and walked down the tunnel, her fingers barely touching the wall as she went. After a short while, Keilana turned back to the other two. Grrarrl had stopped making noises and Seva looked confused and slightly worried.

"So many lives were lost here," Keilana said slowly. "So many…concentrations of the Force dissipated in just a few short hours. I'm not surprised that it hasn't lingered here through the years…" Keilana gave them a sad smile. The only reaction she received was further confusion. She laughed, a humorless sound. "This is where the Clone Wars began. This is where my…" She shook her head. "We are under the arena," she said with a gesture to Seva. Seva asked this of Grrarrl who snorted and nodded. Keilana smiled lightly. "I'll be right back."

Before either Seva or Grrarrl could move, Keilana collapsed into the dirt.

_The sounds of battle consumed her and the cries of dying men and women echoed through her mind. She could hear their wails and feel their agony, but she could not see their bodies. She was caught up in a swirl of sand that tore at her face and arms, leaving trails of blood in their wake. It was not until a figure stepped into her view was she able to see the battle around her. However amazing it might have been to witness history and to watch the death of a hundred Jedi, her eyes were focused on a single figure. A man dressed in nothing more than a thin white tunic and loose pants stood with his hands clasped together, watching her as he might a statue in a museum. He couldn't have looked any less like Boba Fett had he tried despite their near identical expression and shape. He did not move for a long moment and neither did she. They simply watched each other until he held out a hand to her. She mimicked his gesture and came forward until her hand rested in his firm grip. With his other hand, he gestured to the scene around them._

_"This is what brought you to the world," he said. "And that," he pointed to a boy who was hiding in the shadows, "is why."_

_She studied the boy's face and found that she could see every strand of hair and every speck of dirt on his cheeks despite the great distance between them. Was this what he would look like? Was this boy to be her son? She furrowed her brow and gasped at the colour of the boy's eyes. They were not brown like hers, nor black as her father's, but a green so intense and clear they seared through her own. She blinked but could not turn away from the gaze that held her so intently. They stood there for hours, seconds, she could no longer tell, and it was not until the boy disappeared into the shadows was the spell broken._

_"I have never seen eyes like that before," he admitted, watching the battle with eyes like her own. "And I doubt I ever will again. He is yours, you know."_

_"I know," she said softly with an air of great sadness. "And I knew."_

_"Knew what?"_

_She shook her head, her eyes dry of the tears that should have been there. "I just knew."_

_He nodded slowly and returned his gaze to the massacre that went on around them. Their hands were held up at shoulder level as if he were escorting her to her premiere and she almost felt as if she were wearing a flowing gown. Glancing down, just to make sure, she was almost satisfied to see that she was still in her dusty and stained clothing._

_"What was it that you wanted to ask?"_

_"Ask?" He chuckled. "Why would I want to ask you anything?"_

_"You brought me here."_

_He glanced at her and smiled, the expression holding a certain amount of joy. "I did."_

_"Then what do you want?"_

_The look on his face melted and he shook his head. "He raised you to well, dearest." Pause. "She is about to get what she wants."_

_"I can feel her shadow…"_

_"Her influence is crossing the galaxy and she won't let you escape."_

_"I know…" Tears started to fill her eyes._

_"She is coming for him…"_

_"I know…"_

_She closed her eyes and, when she found the strength to open them, it was not the battle that she saw…_

Keilana jumped and stifled a scream in her throat as she was greeted by the furry face of Grrarrl which was very, very close to her own. Coughing as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, Keilana looked around.

"How long was I out?"

"Out? Keilana, you collapsed no more than a second ago." Seva furrowed her brow and Keilana ignored the fact that the Lyian had used her proper name.

"Oh…"

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," Keilana said as she wiped a hand over her forehead to rid it of sweat. When she glanced casually at the back of her hand, she gasped to see that it was covered in blood. At the same time, Seva muffled a cry of shock with her hand and Grrarrl chittered softly in concern.

"What happened?" Seva said after her initial silence. Keilana's arms and face were covered in miniscule cuts.

"I'm not quite sure. There was sand, and Jedi, and…Jaxon…" Keilana squeezed her eyelids together and buried the heels of her hands into her sockets until white stars exploded in the darkness. "And he was there too."

"Who's Jaxon? Who's…_he_?" Seva asked, kneeling next to Keilana. All of her contempt and hate for the woman was forgotten for the moment.

"They're no one," Keilana said pointedly as she stood up and walked away. She crossed her arms and stared at her toes. "I don't want to talk. Can we get going, Grrarrl?"

The minotaur snorted in acquiescence without Seva's assistance and started to lead them down the tunnel. Keilana glanced at Seva and then walked after the large creature, her eyes on the ground, her arms crossed over her breasts.

-

"Gnah!" Jax said pointing at Ganner. The large Jedi smiled widely and ran his hand over the boy's dark hair. Jax mimicked the smile and bounced up and down, his arms waving through the air. "Gnah!"

"Shhh. I'm supposed to be putting you to bed, kid." Ganner stood up from the floor and walked towards Jax's bassinet. Jax grabbed Ganner's hair and pulled. Hard. Ganner winced and untangled the small hand. Jax laughed with delight and pulled his hair again. Ganner pressed his lips together and held out the infant. Jax smiled and cooed.

"What did your mother tell you before she left?" Jax squealed with delight and reached for Ganner with his chubby hands.

"Gnah! Gnah! Gnah!"

"What are you trying to say? You're too young to start speaking, little man. Hold off a little and learn how to crawl first." Jax watched Ganner intently and babbled softly. He reached for Ganner again as his face started to contort. Ganner pulled the child to his chest quickly, patting his back softly. "Don't start crying now, I was only teasing."

The two of them stayed there for a moment longer before Ganner became aware of another presence in the room. He turned around to see Mara Jade Skywalker standing in the door jam, her arms crossed.

"I never imagined you as the nurturing type, Ganner." She stood up straight and started to approach the large man. "Honestly I didn't. But seeing you with little Jaxon…"

Ganner grinned and shrugged. "You constantly learn new things about your friends, Mara."

"I guess so."

The two continued to chat as Ganner rocked slowly from side to side. As Jax started to fall sleep, a shadow moved across the window that neither of the Jedi noticed. Had they looked up, they would have seen a pair of glowing eyes staring back at them through the darkness. Had they looked at Jaxon, they would have noticed his eyes flash green before he fell asleep.

-

Keilana sat close to the fire that Grrarrl had built up for the three of them. She had accepted the food he had offered and had drunk the water she was given. Other then that, Keilana did nothing. Though Seva had tried repeatedly, she could not pull Keilana out of her thoughts for longer than to receive a quick response to an answer posed to her. That being the case, the Lyian and the minotaur had fallen into a silent conversation; they left Keilana to her thoughts.

A draft whisked through the cavern that served as Grrarrl's nest, pulling at the fire. Keilana pushed her hair out of her face and glanced in the direction of the wind.

"We're close to the surface," Seva said quietly. Keilana nodded without looking at the other two. "Grrarrl says that you should go to sleep." Nod. "Or that you should at least do something other than stare at the fire." Keilana glanced at the other two.

"Please, don't tell me what to do," she said softly, firmly. Seva and Grrarrl regarded the bounty hunter for a moment before falling back into their conversation. Keilana sighed and moved away from the fire slightly. Laying down on her side, facing the blaze, Keilana pillowed her head on her arm and pulled her knees halfway up to her chest.

Her mind slowly drifted back to the thought that had been haunting her since her vision: How could someone's eyes turn that colour? How could her Jax have…those eyes? She furrowed her brow. It was only a vision, she told herself. It meant nothing, just a dream. She tried to convince herself of that truth, repeating those words over and over to herself until they became a mantra running through her mind. Remaining like this, laying still and trying to convince herself of something she doubted was true, Keilana started to fall asleep until something tickled her mind. She pushed herself up and looked through the dark to the small entrance of the cavern. For a moment she was sure the Force had returned, but too quickly it was gone, leaving a hole in her being.

"What is it?" Seva asked. Grrarrl snorted an inquiry and looked in the direction as well. "Grrarrl says that he doesn't sense anything."

"He wouldn't have," Keilana said as she pushed herself to her feet. "I'll be right back."

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Just right outside. Don't worry about me." Keilana gestured for them to stay put as she stepped around the fire and ducked under the entrance. Looking back and forth through the dark corridor (they had left the area with the lichen), she stepped to the left and started to walk slowly down the hall. After a moment, she pulled out her long knife and held it firmly. Pausing, Keilana touched the wall and looked intently forward. She could see better than the average human could in the dark, and was able to see anything larger than a small rodent. It was serving her well at the moment. Far in the distance, at the very end of the corridor, a figure was starting to approach. Keilana attempted to reach out through the Force but was met with only resistance. Whatever it was that had dampened the Force was working well. Frowning, Keilana crept forward, careful not to disturb the fine silt that covered the ground. The figure paused and gestured as another joined the first.

This went on for several minutes longer, a series of pauses and gestures. They were rapidly approaching each other and Keilana felt naked without the Force to help guide her. Cursing herself for for depending so greatly on something her father didn't believe in (something that she herself had been taught didn't exist), Keilana took a cautious step forward, straining her ears and narrowing her eyes in an attempt to focus her vision. The chip in her head whirred away (though she could not hear it) and attempted to focus on the figure by making slight adjustments to Keilana's pupils, so slight, in fact, the she hardly noticed them. But it was to no affect; the tunnel was just too dark.

Keilana tightened her grip on the hilt of her dagger and steadied herself on her feet, ready to attack or defend. She heard the two figures whisper to each other and then the familiar _snap-hiss_ of a lightsaber as she was blinded by a sudden burst of light.

Ducking under the blade as it was thrown towards her, she hit the ground hard and bit back a harsh Mandalorian curse.

"I know that voice…" Someone said. Keilana lay very still for a moment before looking up at the face that loomed above her, tinted red by the blade of his sword.

"Well, fuck me," Keilana said as Kyp helped her up. "Imagine running into you in a dark corridor under the surface of Geonosis."

"Which is a good thing, as we came looking for you." Pause. "Where's Seva?"

"She's with Grrarrl in his nest."

"What?" Kyp and Cera said at the same moment.

Cera continued. "My Lady is in a nee-est with a what?"

"Grrarrl," Keilana said, turning towards the Lyian. "He's a minotaur."

That certainly didn't help. Cera started yelling and complaining in her native tongue and Kyp turned to Keilana, both of them ignoring the Lyian.

"You met a minotaur?" Kyp turned off his lightsaber and attached it to his belt. He pulled out a small lantern as Keilana nodded.

"A minotaur, yes. He's not an animal, if that's what you're asking. Though, we should probably go back. I left in sort of a daze over a vision and have been gone for a while now."

"A vision?"

"I'll tell you about it later."

Keilana motioned for the other two to follow her as she turned around, indicating the end of the discussion. Both Kyp and Cera hesitated for a moment before following her.

Nobody spoke the entire way back to the den. Keilana was about to duck through the small opening when Grrarrl stepped out. He snorted at Keilana, asking her where she had been. Before Keilana could respond (though she hadn't actually understood what he had said, she was just assuming his question), Grrarrl stiffened and rose to his full height to peer over Keilana and into the dark. Keilana turned around and allowed a smile to cross her lips. Her two companions had pulled out their weapons. Grrarrl touched Keilana's shoulder possessively as she startled everyone with a laugh.

"You two put your weapons away," she said with a gesture. "This is Grrarrl. He assisted me in killing a glorne spider and was going to show us a way out of the labyrinth in the morning."

Kyp relaxed slightly but still held his lightsaber before him. The instrument was thrumming.

"Are you sure, Keilana?" Kyp eyed the minotaur's hand. Keilana, who seemed indifferent to the contact, shrugged Grrarrl's hand off her shoulder and walked towards Kyp. Grrarrl chittered at her but the sound went unheard.

"I trust him enough to lead us out of this place but no more then that," Keilana said softly. "Put the sword away."

Kyp lowered the lightsaber and took his thumb off the activation. The tunnel fell into complete darkness until a torch appeared in the entrance to Grrarrl's nest. It was Seva. Cera stifled a squeal of joy and stepped forward, a grin on her face. She was like a child.

"Ti'Kanlla! A ta tonlla? A ta hunta? Ki inton jun ta leh?" ("My lady! Are you all right? Are you hurt? What happened after you fell?") Cera touched her leader's shoulder and gasped when she saw the angle of Seva's neglected broken arm. "Tan'klal!" ("Your arm!")

"La-to kane, Cera, Te ya kane" ("It is fine, Cera, I am fine.") Seva smiled and gestured to the others with the torch. "We should sleep if we plan on leaving early." She ducked back into the nest, the others following closely.

-

Later that night Kyp and Keilana sat up talking in low tones. They were speaking about what had happened to them since they had been split up and had just reached Keilana's vision. She fell silent and looked at the ground, reluctant to speak about it. Kyp did not know who her father was (let alone her grandfather) and she doubted this was a very good place to reveal the secret.

"Keilana, it could be important," Kyp urged. She shook her head and glanced towards where the others were sleeping. Grrarrl had disappeared into the tunnels nearly an hour ago and neither Kyp nor Keilana knew his destination. They still could not touch the Force.

"I know," Keilana said softly. "And it is important, but not to you. It was about Jax and…and someone you wouldn't know nor would I if he hadn't come to me before."

"Excuse me?"

Keilana closed her eyes and remained silent as she searched the back of her eyelids for an answer. One wasn't there. Opening her mouth and closing it several times, Keilana looked at her feet.

"My grandfather," she said, barely above a whisper. "My grandfather died here during the first battle of the Clone Wars and he spoke to me when the naala attacked. He spoke to me again in the tunnels, showing me Jax as his son, my father, but with eyes I have only seen in my nightmares."

"What do you mean?"

"Jax had my mother's eyes, Kyp," Keilana said, tears welling in her eyes. "She loathes me in her death and hasn't left my dreams alone for years now. I see her, but only her eyes and I will never forget them for as long as I live because they are like nothing I have ever seen." She bit her thumb before going on.

"What kind of eyes does she have?"

"Green," Keilana answered immediately. "And clear. You could see right through them if there was not something there to block your view. They are bright and they see everything and Jax had them, Kyp. He had my mother's eyes. He was so close to being a Feehh…"

"A what?" Kyp asked sharply. Keilana looked at the ground and shook her head.

"Nothing." Keilana stood up and turned around to leave the conversation but didn't have the chance. Before she could get far, Keilana felt Kyp's hand around her wrist, pulling her back towards the ground. As she hit, pain shot through her knees and up her legs.

"What the fuck, Kyp?" She growled, pulling her wrist out of his grip and rubbing it.

"I can't believe I've never seen it before," he said, his voice teetering on the edge of being harsh. "I know your tattoo."

"What, this tattoo?" Keilana said, pointing at her arm. "Congratulations, you can recognize Mandalorian war symbols."

"Mandalorian?" Kyp said, sitting back. "I don't believe you… Who the hell are you?"

"You know who I am!" Keilana said, standing up. Kyp stood up as well and grabbed her wrist. She jerked away and, stepping over the Lyians, fled into the tunnel. Kyp went after her, grabbing a torch on the way.

"Come back here!" Kyp held the torch out and looked back and forth through the tunnel.

"Not until you apologize, Durran," came Keilana's voice. Kyp couldn't pin down a location.

"Apologize for what? You've lied to us about who you are. Is that why you came after Luke? To do something your family couldn't?"

"_Don't you say that!_" Keilana's voice echoed through the tunnel. "I am not that girl anymore. I am part of your family now."

"A Fett in the Jedi Temple?" Kyp mocked. "That's rich. Who knows about this?"

"Your precious Luke Skywalker knows," Keilana said. She was right behind Kyp. He spun around and reached for his lightsaber but Keilana had grabbed it first. "And so does Ganner." Keilana dropped her hand and looked away. After a moment, she offered Kyp's weapon to him and sighed. "He was never my father, you know," she said softly after a moment. "He was a killer who happened to have the chance to raise a child to carry on his line of work. He trained me to kill very well. That's the kind of person my father is. Are you pleased with the answer to your question?" Keilana glanced at Kyp, her cheeks streaked with tears.

"Keilana…" Kyp said. He touched her hair before gently cupping her cheek. "You've proved yourself trustworthy time and time again, but how do you expect me to react to something like this?"

"Exactly as you did, actually. This is what broke me and Ganner apart and I couldn't tell anyone after that. I trusted him the most out of anyone in the Temple and he, well, you saw."

"Ganner is a spoiled brat," Kyp said with a smile. "I've been through something on the par of what you seem to have gone through."

"Growing up in the dark having to fend for yourself?"

"Exactly." Kyp ran his hand over Keilana's hair and dropped the torch to pull her into a hug. Keilana accepted it and started to weep against his shoulder.

"I wanted to keep this a secret from everybody else after Luke found out," Keilana said after a long while. "I wanted to start over but there was one other person who had to know."

"Ganner."

Keilana nodded. "Please don't tell anyone, Kyp."

"It's not my place to tell anyone. You need to tell who you need to tell and I was being nosy."

Keilana laughed and stepped back from Kyp's embrace. She ran the back of her hand over her cheek and grinned. "Twenty-two and still able to cry like a baby."

"Sometimes you just need to cry."

"Speaking from experience, Kyp?" Keilana smiled wider and stepped forward. She touched her lips to Kyp's cheek and held them there for a moment before pulling back. "Thank you." Keilana touched Kyp's forearm and smiled, holding it lightly. Kyp smiled back.

"Perhaps we should get some sleep. If we want to get out of here to find the twins we had better be well rested."

"Yes, we should." Keilana took Kyp's hand and held onto it tightly as she led him back into Grrarrl's nest. Neither of them saw the minotaur lingering in the shadows, a growl trapped behind his barred teeth.

-

After a dreamless night, Keilana woke with a start and a groan. Every part of her body tingled, her left arm the most poignant source of pain. Sitting up, Keilana gingerly touched her elbow which was still swollen from the Lyian Advisor's greeting. The skin throbbed against her finger. Fluttering her eyelids in pain, Keilana stood up, the only one awake. She started to take an inventory of her injuries so as to calculate to what extent she could push herself today. As far as she could discover, despite various aches, pains, and bruises, her only significant wounds were on her left arm; the healing sprained elbow (which she had foolishly ignored since coming to Geonosis), and the scabbed over cut to her left bicep. The arm was functional, especially after taking some medicine to deaden the pain, but it was not up to par quite yet. _Right_, Keilana thought to herself, chuckling silently to herself.

Turning around, Keilana crossed her arms and watched the others as they slept. Cera and Seva were on one side of the now dead fire, sleeping lightly. Kyp was at her feet, his head pillowed on his arm, and Grrarrl was sleeping in a small nest he had made for himself in the corner, his back to the humans. Moving slowly through the small space, Keilana ducked through the short entrance and out into the tunnel.

The first thing she noticed was that the corridor seemed…lighter. She turned in a circle, looking for the source of the light and found it far above her head. There was a hole to the surface there, small but large enough to let in light. Keilana smiled and titled her head to the side. Walking to the wall, she touched it, looking for a hand hold. Once she found one, she gripped it tightly and pulled herself up, her foot on the wall, her other hand searching for something to hold on to. And so she continued up the wall, drawing closer and closer to the small opening. Up here the air seemed fresher and a slight breeze caught her hair. It was warm but pleasant.

After climbing for nearly fifteen minutes, Keilana found a ledge large enough for her to sit on. She paused here and looked across the tunnel to the hole. She could not fit through it if she tried, but it was nice, seeing light. She allowed herself to smile as she lingered there for a little while longer.

Before too long, Keilana started to climb down. Upon reaching the ground, she turned back to the nest and was surprised to find Grrarrl there, waiting for her. He chittered softly and gripped her arm in his big hand. Keilana tried to pull away and when she couldn't, she put up her hand and pushed at Grrarrl's chest.

"Get away from me, Grrarrl," she said, pulling as far away from him as she could. He ignored her and pulled her closer, sniffing at her hair. Keilana grimaced as he bit her already tender shoulder lightly before letting her go. Without a sound, Grrarrl turned back to the nest and ducked under the entrance. Keilana touched her shoulder after he had disappeared and wasn't surprised to find it bleeding. She cursed softly, sure that Grrarrl thought of her as his own.

Pausing for a moment longer, Keilana followed Grrarrl back into the cave. She glanced at him as he looked up but continued to Kyp's side. Touching his shoulder to wake him, Keilana kneeled.

"Keilana…" He blinked and noticed her shoulder right away. "What happened?"

"Grrarrl," she said under her breath, looking over Kyp's shoulder. The minotaur was watching them. "He made it quite obvious that he wants me to remain here with him."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said." She paused before looking back at Kyp. "Do you remember how you got here?" Kyp nodded. "Good, because I don't trust Grrarrl to lead us out of here anymore, not if he wants to keep me around."

"I understand," he said, standing up. Keilana remained where she was as Kyp moved to wake up the other two women. He quickly related to them what Keilana had told him. They both looked at Grrarrl who wasn't letting them out of his sight.

In the meanwhile, Keilana had torn off more of her jacket and was starting to bandage her shoulder. It was a sloppy dressing, but it would have to do until they returned to the ship.

It did not take long for the humans to gather their things and, upon sensing that his companions were about to leave him, Grrarrl stood up and followed them into the tunnels. Keilana gave Seva a significant look and the woman turned to the minotaur, telling him that his services were no longer needed since their companions knew how to exit the tunnels. He roared in response and shook his head.

"He won't let us leave without him," Seva said.

"Yeah, I sort of got that on my own." Keilana sighed and gestured with her hand. "Fine, whatever, but we're listening to Kyp and Cera as to how to get out of here."

This was told to Grrarrl and he snorted in response, obviously unhappy with the situation. However, he complied and remained silent for the time being.

Once sure they had everything, the small group made their way up the tunnel, Kyp and Cera in the lead.

-

They had been traveling for several hours with barely a word between them. A small argument had broken out at one point about whether they should go one way or another, but it had been short lived and a decision has been made.

And so they found themselves walking along a thin path along a cliff's edge. Above them a shear wall rose to unseen heights and below the cavern was full of mist and the ground could not be seen. They were sure the natives were below them, for they could here the click of the bug's wings and short conversations in their strange tongue, but nobody had seen one.

"The mist appears to be clearing," Kyp said, pausing momentarily. Keilana drew close to him and peered around his shoulder and down, looking for the bottom of the cavern.

"Look!" Keilana exclaimed, pointing down. Kyp looked over the side of the cliff, following the line of her finger. Through the clearing mist, Kyp could see the motionless bodies of two humans suspended in fields of light; the twins. "Well, that's certainly lucky."

Keilana took a step backwards to the edge, estimating the distance to the ground. "We have to get down there."

"That's a fifty foot drop at least, Keilana," Kyp said, looking at the woman. He grabbed her arm and held tight, not letting her jump. Grrarrl chittered and snorted.

"I don't care, Kyp," she said, pulling at him.

"You don't have the Force to draw on to slow your decent."

"I've leapt over the edge of buildings plenty of times, Kyp. I've been trained very well." She gave Kyp a hard stare.

"I don't care about how well you've been trained. You are injured enough as it is."

Keilana bared her teeth but complied. "Then how do you propose we get down there? Her Grace won't be able to climb down with her arm and we won't be able to climb back up with two unconscious young adults."

Kyp pressed his lips together.

"You, Grrarrl, and I can take care of the bugs."

"And what will the Lyians be doing?"

"Getting the bikes so that we can get out of here faster. Yours didn't drop through the hanger with you."

"Still, I doubt it's in any kind of shape to be ridden." Regardless of her doubts, Keilana related this plan to the Lyians and Grrarrl before crouching and looking over the edge.

"You ready?" Kyp asked.

"Of course." Keilana gave him a grin before swinging herself over the edge and starting the descent. Kyp and Grrarrl were close behind her as the Lyian women waited until their companions had disappeared before continuing.

Kyp, Keilana, and Grrarrl climbed in silence for nearly fifteen minutes and reached the cavern floor without a word between them. Keilana held out her hand, looking through the mist. When Grrarrl shook his head, indicating that they were alone, Keilana crossed the ground to the twins. They were suspended in midair in rotating prisons of light. Neither twin moved.

"Get ready to catch them," Keilana said under her breath as she opened what she assumed to be a control panel. Everything was written in a language she barely understood. Touching one button, Keilana glanced up to see a bolt of energy cross through Jacen's torso, jerking his body this way and that. She uttered a vicious curse in Mandalorian before studying the panel closer. It took her nearly five minutes to be sure that the button she was choosing was not going to hurt Jacen further. Tentatively, she pressed it and held her breath. The prison device did not react right away and Kyp nearly missed Jacen's fall when he turned to Keilana to ask what she had done this time. He managed to break the fall but nearly tumbled to the ground himself.

"Is he alive?" Keilana asked, taking a step towards Jacen as Kyp laid him on the ground. She pressed her fingers to his neck and blew a sigh of relief to find a pulse. It was weak but definitely there.

"Go release Jaina," Keilana instructed, pointing at the girl. Kyp stepped towards the other Solo twin and opened the control panel on the device that held her.

"Which button is it?"

"The one marked _clul-cli'ack-cl'ack_." Keilana said without looking up from Jacen; she had opened the top of his flight suit to check for any obvious injuries on the young man's body. Other than the expected bumps and bruises, the only other injuries she could find were streaks of blackened skin that crossed his chest from the electric shock.

"The…what?"

Keilana shook her head. "Geonosian, sorry. The fourth from the top in the third column from the left."

Nodding, Kyp pressed the button and caught Jaina as she fell. He brought her to her brother's side and started a similar inspection of her person.

"Look at this," Keilana had pulled back the shoulder of Jacen's clothing revealing a fresh tattoo on the skin covering his collar bone. "The bugs branded him."

Kyp leaned over Jaina to look at the odd lettering. "What does it mean?"

"Hold on, I don't know this language very well." Keilana studied the lettering for several minutes in silence. "_Cli'ii-li-ii…_" She muttered. "The pardoner, that's as close as I can get."

"Shit," Kyp growled as he fastened Jaina's flightsuit. "Yun-Shuno."

"Excuse me?"

"Yun-Shuno, The Pardoner…it's the god the Yuuzhan Vong associate with Jacen."

"Oh, fuck," Keilana said, standing up. "Do you think they're here?"

"The twins would be gone already if they were." Kyp stood as well and wiped his hands together. "But we better hurry before they do arrive."

"How are we going to get these two out of the caves?"

Kyp seemed at a loss for words as he started to look around the cavern. "There," he pointed. "A speeder."

Keilana nodded and ran towards the vehicle.

"We can all fit in it," she said upon closer inspection. "All of us except Grrarrl."

She looked at the minotaur but he was not paying attention to her. Instead, his attention was on something hidden in the mist. Baying loudly, Grrarrl turned to Keilana and pointed at the twins, chittering softly. He then bound out of view.

"He wants us to get these two out of here."

"I can see that," Kyp said putting Jaina in the back of the speeder. "Help me with Jacen."

Keilana hesitated, her eyes on the spot that Grrarrl had disappeared. She could hear the sounds of a fight and the snarls of the minotaur. "We can't just leave him, Kyp."

"He did it to save us and the twins, Keilana. You have to accept his sacrifice." Kyp had taken Jacen's shoulders and was lifting him off the ground. "Now come help me. These two are the most important people to worry about."

Keilana looked at Kyp, pain in her expression over the cries of an injured minotaur. Closing her eyes and forgetting about the deep bite marks in her shoulder, Keilana grimaced as Grrarrl screamed. She swallowed and started for the two Jedi, picking up Jacen's feet.

"They're coming this way," Kyp said, jumping into the driver's seat. Keilana climbed in next to him and started searching the cab for any weapons as Kyp turned the speeder on and slammed his foot on the accelerator. All she could find was a blaster rifle with under half its charge.

"It will have to do," Kyp said, glancing at Keilana. He then touched her shoulder. "He did it to save you, Keilana."

"I know," she said, climbing into the back seat between the twins. She took aim as the first bug appeared and shot it, clipping the alien in the wings. The bug fell out of the air and disappeared in the mist. "Do you have any idea where we are going?"

"Not a clue," Kyp said as he banked around a sharp corner. "I just hope it's in the general direction of the exit and not towards the Vong."

"Yeah," Keilana grunted between the screams of the weapon in her hand, "me too."

She glanced at the back of Kyp's head before turning back to their pursuers. The Geonosian's were starting to catch up and when Keilana related this to Kyp he shifted the speeder into a higher gear and started to accelerated. However, one of the bugs had managed to grab hold of the back of the vehicle and was starting to climb over the back. Keilana reached for her knife and stabbed it into the stomach of the alien. With a scream the bug was whisked away into the air.

The pursuit lasted several minutes longer before Kyp turned to Keilana.

"Look, light." Keilana turned to where Kyp indicated and smiled.

"I hope the Lyians will be able to find us."

"I have my comm and Cera's frequency if they can't. We can always rendezvous back at the ship."

"Yes," Keilana nodded. She turned back to her weapon and allowed Kyp to concentrate on getting them out of there.

It only took a few minutes at the speed they were going and Keilana was worried about the fact that she had not seen a single one of the Yuuzhan Vong. However, when they did exit into the bright Geonosian day, both Keilana nd Kyp were momentarily blinded and therefor could not spare a thought for the humanoid aliens. The speeder swerved to the left and tilted to one side as Kyp's eyes slowly grew used to the light.

"Do you know which way we need to go?" Keilana asked. She squinted at Kyp and brought her hand up to her forehead in an attempt to block out the sun.

"To the southwest," Kyp answered immediately as he brought this comm up to his mouth.

"Cera?" The comm crackled for a moment.

"Dah?" Came the response. "Is that you, Jedi?"

"It is. What is you current location?"

"We can see you if that is what you are asking. Perhaps we are one-hundred meters off? My lady is looking at you through been-ah-culares."

"Head back to the ship," Kyp instructed as Keilana leaned over his shoulder.

"Cera?" She said.

"Bounty hunter."

"Very good. Now listen to me. Both of the bikes have homing devices on them that will lead you back to the ship. Just input the following code into the control panel and you should be good to go." Keilana then related the rest of her instructions before sitting back and looking at Kyp. "Time to get back to the ship and find a way to repair her."

Kyp nodded and stepped on the acceleration.

-

It took nearly two days of work and the dismantling of one of the Lyian ships to get the _Scrimshaw_ back online, but Keilana was able to manage it. During this time the twins drifted in and out of an induced unconsciousness. Kyp and Keilana had made the decision that it was better for twins' bodies to concentrate wholly on healing rather than on anything else at the moment. The two young Jedi would be needed in the immediate future of the mission and the quicker they could heal the better.

Having finished the final adjustments to the newly repaired hyperdrive, Keilana walked down the ramp, wiping her hands on a filthy piece of cloth. The three Lyians were standing in the sand, watching Keilana as she approached.

"Thank you for allowing me to take apart one of your ships, Seva Caiterina. I wouldn't have been able to get off this planet alive without it nor would we have been able to get back on our mission."

"I do not remember you giving me much of a choice," Seva said, a slight grin on her lips. "I recall you calling it pay back for saving my life a number of times."

Keilana shrugged. "Aklahn will be able to fit in one of the other ships, won't he?"

"We'll find room," Seva said, glancing back at the Phantoms. She then turned back to Keilana; her expression had changed. "I still do not like this, you are aware of that, bounty hunter?

"Perfectly," Keilana said. "Which is why you have to get your story straight."

"If either of my parents find out that I am lying to them I could disgrace my entire family. You are a wanted criminal and it is my mission to bring you back."

"And that is exactly why I destroyed what was left of your third ship and shot up your other two ships, with your permission of course. You just have to make sure these two don't go ratting you out." Keilana indicated Seva's wingmates who both looked at Seva and assured her that they would not betray their lady. With a smile, Keilana stepped towards Seva and offered the other woman her hand.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, your Grace." Keilana shook Seva's hand and grinned before turning around and returning to her ship. Before she had even stepped off the boarding ramp, the ship's engines roared to life. The three Lyians backed away as the _Scrimshaw_ flared its engines and shot off the ground and into the sky.


	11. The Spreading Darkness

A/N: Hokay, so... I got a little distracted there with Geonosis but this chapter should get everything back on track. Sorry about kinda wandering off topic there for the last few chapters... Anyway, back to the story.

Oh, and if anyone can name the movie a portion of this chapter was based on, kudos to you. And a cookie, too.

* * *

The Spreading Darkness  


They were two days out of Geonosis and on their way to Nar Shadda before Kyp even thought about broaching the topic of Keilana's heritage. Having just returned from checking on the twins, Kyp stepped around the front two seats in the cockpit and sat down, watching Keilana as she silently observed the starstreaks of hyperspace.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question, Keilana?" He said at length. She turned to look at him but remained silent for a moment.

"If it's about my father I don't want to hear it."

"Not directly."

Keilana sighed and slowly shook her head. "Speak until I tell you to stop."

Kyp pressed his lips together, forming the question in his mind.

"How did you learn Geonosian? I've barely heard about the aliens and yet you can read and speak their language."

"I don't speak it," Keilana said, cutting Kyp off. "It's physically impossible for humans to speak their language; our vocal cords aren't formed correctly. However, I can read the language, I can understand the language, and I can pronounce some of the simple words."

"That still doesn't answer my question."

Keilana turned fully to Kyp and stared at him. She did not speak for a long time and when she did, her voice was hard.

"My father had a borderline obsession with the planet because it is the place his father was killed by the Jedi. I was tutored in the language when I was five and before I ran away I was forced to learn the layouts of five separate labyrinths just in case. That is how I can read their language."

"Oh, wow, I'm sorry."

"About what? You have nothing to apologize for. It's not your fault my father has issues."

"I'm sorry for making you talk about it," Kyp said, watching Keilana carefully. "I know you don't like talking about your father or what he did to you."

"Oh." She slumped her shoulders and waved her hand through the air, dismissing the subject. "Don't worry about it. What's in the past is done and over with. Nothing you can say or do will make it go away."

Kyp studied her for a moment before sighing. "Whatever you think best," he said as he leaned on his knees and stood up. Keilana simply smiled her gratitude over her shoulder as Kyp left the cockpit.

* * *

_Beep…beep…beep…_

Keilana blinked and yawned as an alarm sounded through her ship; the jump was nearly at an end. Stretching languidly, Keilana was not surprised when the Jedi walked into the cockpit and asked why she hadn't silenced the alarms. Lifting her shoulders in a slight shrug, Keilana reached across the control panel and touched a button to turn off the persistent sound.

"It wasn't bothering me," she said at length. "Now buckle up, the transition might be a little rough."

Turning to the controls, Keilana started throwing switches and easing down levers until the _Scrimshaw_ slid out of hyperspace. The drop was smoother than Keilana had expected it to be which caused a smile to curve her lips. However, as soon as their moon destination came into view, Keilana closed her eyes against her pounding heart and the smile faded. Her father was down there, she could feel him. She did not open her eyes until a hand fell on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" It was Kyp. Keilana nodded as she exhaled.

"It's just been a long time. Most of my memories of Nar Shaada are unpleasant ones to say the least."

Jaina snorted and Keilana turned her chair to look at the girl. "Yes?"

"This was not on our list of destinations, Keilana. What are we doing here?"

"It is, actually." Keilana leaned toward the console and brought up the list of planets Luke had suggested they visit for information. Nar Shaada was the destination right below Naboo, the planet they were supposed to visit rather than the Lye Cluster. "I spoke with your uncle in between a couple of microjumps and he agreed to the slight change in plans. However, there is a catch, at least for the moment."

"And what is that?"

"Everyone gets to join me this time."

"Why?"

"Because you two," she said, pointing at Jacen as well, "were captured on the last planet we visited and your dear uncle doesn't want anything happening to you two again. I think he said that the Princess would skin him alive if you two were injured further." Keilana grinned and lifted her shoulders in a shrug. Jaina was nearly back up to her full strength while Jacen's electric shock had proved to make him slightly lethargic. He was healing but at a slower rate than his sister.

"We can take care of ourselves," Jaina responded curtly.

"Your record isn't very good at the moment." Keilana turned back to her console and put on a pair of headphones. The conversation ended when Keilana started speaking with the owner of a docking bay; the conversation—which quickly escalated into a heated argument—was held in Sullust.

"Okay," Keilana said after a moment. "We've got ourselves a place to set down."

"What was the argument about?" Jacen asked out of simple curiosity.

"Payment. I finally offered three times the amount of money he was originally asking for if he keeps his mouth shut and our bay locked. I'd rather not have our presence here leaking out as there are people looking for me and a good portion of them are probably surface-side." Keilana did not look back at the young man as she spoke. Instead, most of her attention was on navigating her ship through the sea of space junk and dead ships that created a shield around the Smuggler's Moon.

"Isn't that a bit much?" Kyp asked.

"I'd rather not end up in a matchbox, Kyp," Keilana responded as she banked suddenly to the left. "Sorry."

"But three times the amount?"

"Like I said… Besides, it's only a drop in the bucket as far as my funds are concerned. You don't have to worry about me draining the Temple's account, I've plenty of my own money."

"If you say so," Kyp said as he leaned back in his seat.

"I do say so, thank you very much," Keilana retorted. "Now be quiet unless you all fancy ending up as space dust. The old girl isn't what she used to be."

"How are the repairs holding up?" Kyp asked after he pulled the crashwebbing over his shoulders.

"They're holding…" Keilana said quietly. "Ichii (_Computer_)."

"Chi'la (_On-line_)."

"Fueena a'makon lianta (_Shields to maximum power_)."

"Ta'nia (_Affirmative_)."

"Aktan huataa'tieree kleaia (_Activate perimeter weaponry system_)."

"Aktan'ala (_Activating_)."

"Takate altaa no-kifee liia chi'veriate peet tere'shoko (_Target all non-life forms on collision path with ship_)."

"Takate'ala (_Targeting_)."

"Shirii altaa kifee liia (_Spare all life forms_)."

"Ta'nia (_Affirmative_)."

There was silence in the cockpit as soon as Keilana's conversation with her ship was over. After a moment, Jaina leaned forward.

"What was that?"

"I was talking to my ship."

"Right."

"What is there to doubt, Solo? I told my ship to target space junk so that I won't have to."

"Jacen and I could have taken care of it in the turrets."

"I don't have turrets, Solo. Everything is controlled here, by me." Keilana glanced back at the younger woman. "I know what I'm doing, so stay out of it. Please."

Jaina pursed her lips and started to remove her crashwebbing. Jacen put a hand on her shoulder to stop her and received a frigid stare in response.

"The lounge is plenty safe, Jacen." Jaina's tone was cold, forcing Jacen to lift his hand. The growing darkness he sensed in his sister frightened him but he did not know what to do to remedy it. "Come get me if you need me."

With that, she stood up and walked out of the cockpit; Jacen and Kyp turned to watch her leave. Once she was gone, they exchanged silent glances before turning back to the viewport. Keilana appeared as if she hadn't even noticed Jaina's departure and, in fact, she didn't care where the girl was. Just so long as Jaina remained out of trouble and didn't touch anything, Keilana was satisfied.

No more words were spoken within the cockpit the rest of the way to Nar Shadda. Upon entering the atmosphere, Keilana exchanged a few words with the Sullust docking bay owner before guiding her ship into a jerky landing. Some of the stabilizers were still not working properly.

As soon as Keilana shut off the engine, she turned to Kyp and Jacen. The two men glanced at each other; they didn't like the look in Keilana's eye nor the smile on her face.

"Time to get dressed, Jedi."

"Dressed?" Jacen asked. He was sure he knew what Keilana meant and he did not like it in the least.

"Dressed, Jacen. We can't just stroll into Slightly's dressed as we are. Everyone would know right away that we were up to something. Besides, we wouldn't make it past the bouncer."

"What sort of costumes do you have in mind?" Kyp asked. Keilana simply smiled and slowly stood up.

"Right this way if you would." Keilana walked out of the cockpit, the two men on her tail. As they passed the lounge, Keilana stuck her head in and hissed at Jaina. "C'mon, Solo, we have to get ready."

Jaina turned in her seat and gave her brother a questioning look. Jacen simply shrugged and continued to follow Keilana down the hall.

After a moment, Keilana suddenly stopped and twirled to face the Jedi. They nearly ran into each other as Keilana held her hands behind her back.

"Slightly's Tavern is not quite the place it sounds like," Keilana started as she looked at each of the Jedi in turn. "In fact, it is quite the opposite. It hasn't always been this way and, to be honest, it used to be a dump. However, under the new management…"

"Is there a point?" Jaina snapped. Keilana looked at her as a smile spread across her lips.

"You two kids get to play a pair of bodyguards and shadows for Kyp and myself. Your roll is to remain silent and to watch for trouble. Kyp, you and I are going to be the wealthy patrons who are going to Slightly's for an evening of entertainment."

Kyp rose his brow as he listened to Keilana.

"Now," Keilana continued. She turned to a panel in the wall and pushed it aside. "It will be difficult finding costumes for you two," she said, indicating Kyp and Jacen, "as I have never had a reason to horde men's clothing. However, before we left the temple, I did manage to stash a couple of outfits here." Keilana pushed aside a couple of colourful gowns and frowned. "Jacen, You'll have to use your own pants and boots," she said as she handed Jacen and Jaina similar tunics. "Solo, the same goes for you."

"Now, as for you, Kyp." Keilana cocked a finger and continued down the hall after closing the panel. "You will be a little more difficult to dress as we need something nice for you to wear. However, I think I have something over here." Keilana led them in a circle around the lounge to a closet just outside of the room of cages. She opened it and stepped inside. After a moment of rummaging, Keilana handed Kyp a pair of trousers and a tunic. "Your boots will have to do but it would be wonderful if you could shine them."

"What are you going to wear, Keilana," Kyp asked, looking up from his outfit. Keilana's face lit up. "You'll see. Now, go off and get dressed, Jedi. We don't have much time left."

* * *

Though Keilana had told the Jedi to dress quickly, she, apparently, did not feel the need to rush and ended up taking quite a bit more time than the other three. When she finally emerged it was quite obvious why it had taken her so long. Her short hair was pinned up in an elaborate design and her make-up was flawless. From certain angles the Jedi did not recognize her as the woman they knew. Kyp suddenly realized why he was in such nice clothing and the Jedi no longer felt as if he was going to be out of place at this Tavern.

Other than her make-up and hair, Keilana's outfit was rather simple; she was dressed in a long black gown made to fit her form and her tattoo. There was almost no distinction as to where the dress ended and the tattoo began. After a short moment, she smiled at the Jedi and picked at an imaginary piece of lint on one long black glove.

"Shall we go?"

Jaina held up her hand to stop Keilana. "Your costumes seem like overkill."

"We are going to a nice club, Solo." Keilana smiled. "Like I said, Slightly's isn't quite the place it sounds like. It's more of a show than a tavern, to be honest, and it's where all the wealthy gangsters and pirates can be seen on a regular basis. That and no one gets in without an invitation which we," she said as a small datapad seemed to appear out of nowhere, "so conveniently have."

Jaina opened her mouth to respond but closed it quickly with a shake of her head.

"No, I don't care how you obtained those."

"Good," Keilana said with a mischievous smile. "Because I wasn't going to tell."

"Shouldn't we go?" Kyp interjected. "We do have some people to meet after all. You did tell them that we were planetside, right?"

"What kind of a person would I be if I hadn't?" Keilana asked as she replaced the datapad in its hiding spot. "I gave them a time range as to when they should expect us. They'll be inside."

"Good," Kyp said as he stood. "Then we shouldn't keep them waiting for too long. The information might grow sour."

"I couldn't agree with you more." Keilana picked up an expensive looking fur and arranged it around her shoulders. "The club isn't far. We can walk the distance."

That, as it turned out, was not a lie. It took the group little time to reach the tavern and, when they did, Keilana stopped the other's just out of ear shot of the bouncer.

"None of you say anything without thinking about it first. These people are sensitive. In fact, it would just be better if you two," she pointed at the twins, "just didn't speak at all. Kyp, I trust you to say the right things, just remember to think."

The Jedi nodded and Keilana fixed her gown before turning towards the entrance of the club. The large Bothan who served as a bouncer gave Keilana a wary look as he asked for her invitation. Keilana smiled and produced the datapad from its hiding spot. The Bothan glanced at it and rose his brow slightly.

"I didn't know you were going to be joining us tonight, Captain."

"Nor did I," Keilana said smoothly. "I was in town so I decided to drop by with a couple of friends."

The Bothan glanced over her head to Kyp and the twins.

"Partners in crime?"

"Business associates."

"Just as well, Captain Cer'sisa."

"Leena Mai, please," Keilana said as she smiled. Taking the datapad back from the Bothan, she looked over her shoulder to the others and passed through the door.

"Was that really wise, Captain?" Kyp hissed as he and Keilana handed their coats to the doorman.

"It was unavoidable," Keilana said with a significant look. Kyp nodded and looked to the twins who seemed agitated.

As soon as all coats had been handed over, the twins fell into step behind Keilana and Kyp as they proceeded up a set of narrow stairs. Music drifted down to them as they ascended and, upon reaching the top, the four humans were met with a brightly lit stage. Women danced in formation to an upbeat tune as a man standing in the middle of the stage sang. Several people—humans and non- alike—looked up as Keilana and Kyp entered. She looked back at them without smiling before scanning the room. To her left in a booth raised above the floor by a couple of steps, sat a man with a female companion. He turned as Keilana and Kyp stepped down onto the main floor and half stood, lifting his hand. Keilana nodded slightly in his direction, a gesture that told Kyp to lead her that way; Keilana's hand was on Kyp's elbow.

Mounting the steps, Keilana sat across from the man; Kyp sat on her left while the twins remained outside the booth. With the press of a button, the curtain that separated the booth from the show fell.

"You must be Kinyyn j'Vine," Keilana said as she sat back in her chair. The man across from her nodded without saying a word. He was a tall man with light skin and a cybernetic optic sensor in place of a right eye. The red pupil watched Keilana intently, flickering to Kyp every once in awhile. "And I hear you have information for me regarding one Josef Trigen."

"I do," he said at length. "Or rather my daughter does." He gestured to the young woman beside him. She was not much younger than the twins with a head of magnificent red hair and emerald eyes that sparkled in the slight light of the booth. "She was snooping around and discovered a way into the Intranet of Bounties and Rewards."

"She got into the 'Net?"

"That's what I said, bounty hunter." j'Vine's red pupil dilated slightly before going on. "She ran a search for pirates and discovered your Josef Trigen; he used to be one of our own. Trigen disappeared when the Vong invaded and hasn't been heard of since. We figured he had gone and gotten himself killed. Obviously not."

"Is that all?"

"Oh no," j'Vine said with a smile. "I know where he is."

Keilana's eyes widened in surprise. Even Winton hadn't known Trigen's exact location.

"What will it take for you to give me that information?"

j'Vine smiled. "I haven't decided yet. I was going to ask for a portion of the bounty until I heard that you were with a couple of Jedi." He looked at Kyp and grinned. "Don't be surprised, Keilana. People have become very interested in you as of late. No one can figure out why the Crimelord wants a piece of you."

"Crimelord?" Keilana asked as her stomach knotted. A flash of green filled her mind, momentarily blinding her in its hate. Kyp's hand on her arm brought her back to the conversation.

"The Arm. I'm sure you're familiar with them. Their leader wants you and wants you bad, but nobody knows why. Rumor is you ticked him off pretty bad with the Skywalker job."

"Is that the source of this bounty as well?"

j'Vine nodded once. Kyp opened his mouth to say something but Keilana stomped on his foot. The pirates chuckled.

"What price will I have to pay for your information, pirate?"

"I need you to track someone down for me sans a fee."

"I don't work for free…" And, upon seeing Kyp's expression, she added. "Nor am I hunting anymore."

"Have the Jedi put a leash around your neck? Shame." j'Vine pushed his chair back and started to stand. "You used to be the best."

"Wait," Keilana said. The pirate and his daughter exchanged glances but stopped. "Let me speak with my partner."

"This offer is only good for a limited time."

"It will only take a moment." Keilana stood up and motioned for Kyp to follow her. She led him to a corner and turned her back on the pirate.

"We can't go hunting, Keilana, I'm putting my foot down."

"But he knows where Trigen is, Kyp. Who knows if we'll be able to find him on our own. He's gone quiet and there haven't been any more disturbances since we left Coruscant. He knows someone is coming for him."

Kyp sighed and rubbed his temples.

"We should at least ask what the job is before saying no. It's probably local since we won't get the information until we return."

The Jedi waved his hand, telling Keilana to go on. Turning back to the pirates, Keilana asked about the job.

"I had something rather valuable stolen lately," j'Vine started. Keilana's eyes widened slightly. "I know, someone stealing from a pirate. Irony, right? Anyway, this artifact would have caught me a pretty penny in the right place…except for the fact that I no longer have it in my possession. I nicked the guy with my rifle but he still got away."

"Where am I supposed to find him? He could be anywhere by now."

"But he's not. I shot him with a device that would alarm me if he left the planet."

"He could have removed it."

j'Vine shook his head. "The device immediately dissolves into the bloodstream and it takes about a fortnight for the chemical to dissolve completely. I shot him a couple of days ago."

"Okay." Keilana glanced at Kyp. He didn't look happy but nodded his consent anyway. "We'll do it. What do you want me to bring you?"

"Boba Fett's mask and the head of the man who took it."

Keilana rose her brow. "I'm supposed to find Fett's mask? That's some attachment you have to such a nominal piece of metal."

j'Vine shrugged. "So I'm sentimental about the pieces of nostalgia that I happen across. Besides, someone snatched up the _Slave I_ just before I could get to it. All that was left was the helmet…which someone so carelessly left in their living room." j'Vine grinned. "Get the the helm for me and I'll give you your information." He handed Keilana a piece of flimsy. "That's where my ship is docked. I'll be there for the next five days. After that I'm gone."

Standing, the two pirates left the booth.

As soon as they were gone, Kyp turned to Keilana.

"So Fett's mask, eh?"

"Yeah," Keilana said as she shoved the piece of paper down the front of her dress.

"Will you be able to find him?"

"Without a doubt. Finding a head will be the real issue." Without further explanation, Keilana crossed the floor and pulled aside the curtain. "We're done here," she said as she passed the twins. They looked at each other and started to follow the woman with Kyp just behind.

Once they were outside, their jackets protecting them from the cool night, Keilana led the three Jedi into the shadows.

"Did you get the information?" Jacen asked as soon as they were hidden.

"No."

"What?" Jaina gave both Kyp and Keilana an incredulous look. "What do you mean…?"

"I think it should be pretty obvious what we mean. We didn't get the info because," she said, holding up one gloved hand, "because the pirates need me to run a job for them."

"And you accepted? You let her?" Jaina said, turning to Kyp.

"Calm down, Jaina." Kyp said sternly. "There was no other way j'Vine was going to give up the information and we need it. Desperately."

Jaina pursed her lips and closed her arms over her chest. "What do we have to do?"

"You don't have to do anything," Keilana cut in before Kyp could speak. "I need to find a man who has an artifact that j'Vine would like back. I then need to secure the artifact and bring both it and the head of the man who took it back to j'Vine on his ship. Simple as pie."

The twins glanced at the adults and then each other.

"What's the artifact?"

"That, Solo, is none of your business." Keilana signaled the end of the conversation by turning around and starting to walk away. Jaina looked to Kyp for help but he simply followed Keilana. Blowing her frustration in a sigh, Jaina glanced at her brother before following the adults.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Jaina asked after nearly half an hour of silence. Keilana had led them into the depths of Nar Shaada and there had been little sign of life for the past several minutes.

Turning to the younger woman, Keilana smiled lightly. "I'm taking us to the man who stole from the pirates."

"How do you know where he is?" Jaina asked, expressing her doubts.

"Because I am that good." Keilana said with a grin. Jaina rose her brow.

"Are you now?"

"Yes, Solo, I am. And if you don't hush up he'll hear us and the job will get far more difficult." Keilana started to turn away but was stopped by something. Jaina, who had neither seen nor heard a thing watched Keilana closely as she looked into the dark. Softly, Keilana said: "He's near."

"Who is?"

"Shh…" Keilana put a finger to her lips and produced a blaster from inside her outfit. She held it against her shoulder and gestured for the others to stay put as she ripped off the skirt of her gown, revealing a pair of shorts and the boots she normally wore—she had done a rather good job of hiding them. The Jedi did not have the chance to react before Keilana took off in a sprint and disappeared down a dark alley. Though they had no idea what she had heard or what she had seen, Keilana knew exactly where she was going. She had felt him. His presence was pounding at the inside of her skull and she could no longer ignore it. He was close.

Glancing behind her just to make sure the Jedi hadn't followed, Keilana slowed to a walk and stalked around the corner and into a side alley with a single, albeit failing, street light. Standing in the circle of light was a man dressed in full Mandalorian armor. He was looking at the gauntlet on his wrist before glancing up at Keilana; he did not seem the least bit surprised.

"I expected to see you earlier," he said slowly in Mandalorian.

"I was busy," Keilana replied as she approached the circle of light. She stood with her feet a shoulders width apart two meters in front of her father.

"No, I mean, from the time that you realized I was near to the time that you found me. You've slowed down, Keilana."

She had a rather biting remark on the tip of her tongue that she chose not to use. Instead, she sighed. Somehow all of the anger she had felt towards her father a few months earlier had dissipated. She hated herself for it. "What is it that you want, Dad?"

"'Dad'?" He said slightly surprised. "You've grown soft."

Keilana narrowed her eyes.

"I never expected this out of you. Though, after going and getting yourself pregnant I'm not sure if I'm actually surprised by the change."

"Excuse me?" Keilana's voice had taken a dangerous tone.

"That's the girl I know."

"What sort of a game are you playing. Does my son disgust you that much?"

"No, Keilana, it's not your son that disgusts me. What I disapprove of is that you allowed yourself to get pregnant. Did I teach you nothing?"

Keilana did everything in her power to stifle the indignant scream that rose from her chest.

"So I'm not allowed to fuck around like you did? You should have thought about that before bringing your whores onto the _Slave_."

"That's not what I care about, Keilana. I don't care what you do for pleasure, I just care that the father was one of the creatures you turned in for money."

"…How do you know that?"

"It's easy enough to figure out, Keilana, don't take me for stupid."

"How do you know… No, you know what? I'm not going to discuss this."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fuck."

Keilana, though used to such language, was surprised. She followed her father's gaze over her shoulder and swore as well. Jaina Solo was standing at the end of the alley, Kyp behind her with his hand on the girl's shoulder, obviously restraining her. The look of dawning knowledge on Jaina's face made Keilana cringe—she was sure that it would not take the girl long to figure out exactly what was going on.

However, Keilana's thoughts were interrupted when Jacen emerged not long after the other two and stopped dead in his tracks. She had no idea what to do—what to say. Turning back to her father, Keilana opened her mouth to speak but wasn't given the chance; Fett had raised his blaster and pulled the trigger. All she saw before blacking out was an arch of blue light.

* * *

Boba Fett looked up at the three Jedi. None of them moved and when Fett stepped forward and took Keilana up in his arms, Kyp and Jacen drew their lightsabers. They started moving towards the bounty hunter but Fett was faster. He activated his jet pack and disappeared into the night sky before either of the Jedi could act further.

"Boba Fett, Kyp," Jaina said, joining the two men. Her lightsaber was still hanging on her belt.

"I know," Kyp said, deactivating his weapon.

Jaina's next question was lost when Jacen spoke:

"Shouldn't we go after them?" He asked, turning to the other two.

"Go where, Jacen?" Jaina asked. "He could be anywhere." Though her earlier question still pulled at her mind, Jaina couldn't find an opening to ask it. She doubted the others had an answer, anyway. How could they possibly know whether or not Keilana and Boba Fett were related? Even as she asked herself the question, doubts rose. She started to rub her temples as her mind swirled. She did not look up until a hand fell on her shoulder and someone asked if she was okay. Jaina blinked and looked up—it was Jacen.

"I'm fine." She shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind. "What were you saying?"

"That Keilana still has a presence in the Force, unconscious or not."

"Of course."

"Then we'll follow her that way."

"Problem," Kyp said. "I can't feel her."

Jacen gave Kyp an odd look before nodding. "Neither can I."

"I can," Jaina said softly as she looked at the ground. The other two Jedi looked at her.

"How?" Jacen asked.

"I don't know, I just can."

Kyp and Jacen exchanged glances before the elder shrugged.

"But how are we going to follow him? He has a jetpack and we have, well, nothing."

"We can follow on the ground and climb when the time is right," Jacen suggested after a moment. "Or we can climb now and jump from rooftop to rooftop."

Jaina shook her head. "He'll see us if we go up."

"Why are you suddenly concerned for her, Jaina?" Kyp asked.

"Because she's part of our team," Jaina said harshly, ignoring the persistent question of Keilana's heritage. "That and she didn't just leave me and Jacen to die on Geonosis. I don't like her but I'm not just going to let her die. Besides, she set proximity alarms on her ship and is the only one who can get us off this planet."

Jacen rose his brow and glanced at Kyp who looked equally surprised.

Jaina, ignoring the two men, pointed to the southeast. "He went that way." And before they could respond or, indeed, ask Jaina how she could feel Keilana when they could not, Jaina was sprinting ahead. Glancing at each other once more, they followed without a word.

* * *

Keilana came to with a cough. She shook her head and blinked against the blaring lights above her. As soon as she was able to focus her eyes, she looked to the left and stared at her father for a moment before comprehension dawned on her.

"What the fuck did you do that for?" Keilana said, sitting up. Bad idea. The room started to spin around her and she had to close her eyes for a moment.

"I did it because your Jedi friends found us." Fett said, standing up. He walked to the other side of the small cabin and it was not until that point that Keilana realized just where she was. This was the _Slave I_—this was her old room. And it remained now as she remembered it. Fett, who had removed his helmet, turned back to his daughter. "They know about the bounty on your head, right? I'm sure that's why they think I took you."

"One of them knows," Keilana said softly as she swung her feet around the side of the bed. Her father looked at her over his shoulder.

"How?"

"He figured it out," she said. "I didn't tell him."

"How?" He asked again.

"I screwed up, that's how." She said. Fett took the answer and turned to face her fully.

"What are you doing on Nar Shaada?"

"Looking for you, actually." Fett rose his brow. "And looking for information, you just happen to be my way of getting it."

"What information do you need?" Fett asked, beckoning Keilana to follow him. They left the tiny cabin and walked towards the cockpit. Upon reaching the small room, Keilana walked to the wall the seats were mounted on and reached up for the co-captains seat, pulling herself into it. This was all so familiar yet it seemed so foreign now. It had been nearly seven years since she had run away.

After father and daughter were seated, Fett sat forward and pushed a button. "Who is it that you are looking for?"

"Josef Trigen. He used to be a pirate working for Rue Kincaid."

"I know who he is," Fett said. "And where to find him."

"Really?"Keilana glanced at her father.

"Really."

"Can you tell me where he is?"

"What will you do for it?"

"What is so valuable about this information? Fuck. j'Vine wants your helmet and your head for stealing it from him…"

"I was simply returning it to its rightful owner," Fett said with a slight smile.

"…and now you need something from me." Keilana shook her head. "Just tell me what you need."

"I need for you to protect your son at all costs," he said darkly.

"What?"

"Your mother, Keilana. I don't know how she did it, but she's alive, and she's looking for you and your son."

Keilana's eyes widened and her jaw fell loose. Shaking her head, Keilana looked at her father.

"But he's on Coruscant at the Academy. Nothing can get him there."

Fett shook his head. "She can. Your mother has grown powerful, Keilana, more powerful than I ever thought she could. She was only a gutter hunter when I knew her, a gutter hunter in a lot of trouble. But since she disappeared something changed about her. She's grown…eerie. Distant."

"How do you know?"

"She contacted me for a job. She wants you, Keilana, and she knew that I would be able to find you. I don't know why, but she's using every resource she has to track you down. I wouldn't trust this pirate you're working for. Hell, I wouldn't trust anyone who's acting friendly towards you."

"Why are you doing this for me, Dad?"

"Because I don't want your son to lose you like I lost my father," he said without looking at Keilana. She looked at her father but had nothing to say. How could she respond to that? It must have been the one most caring thing her father had ever said about her, even if he didn't mean it to be.

"I…thanks," she said at length.

"Don't think about it," Fett said roughly. "Just don't be stupid and get yourself caught. Now get out of here. The Jedi will be looking for you."

Keilana climbed out of her chair and was about to leave when she remembered something.

"You said you know where Trigen is."

Fett looked over the side of his chair at his daughter. Handing her a datapad, he pushed a button. Keilana watched the screen as images flashed across the screen. At first an image of the entire galaxy appeared on the screen and then it zoomed in on an obscure little planet in the Outer Rim. The stats of the planet appeared next to the image of it, the words in Mandalorian.

"Thanks, Dad." She glanced up at him. "Oh, and the pirate nicked you with some sort of tracking chemical, he didn't say which kind."

"No he didn't," Fett said with a slight grin. "Just get back to your son."

Keilana nodded and turned to leave the ship. Just before walking down the boarding ramp, Keilana paused to glance back at her father. He looked up at her and nodded before she turned to walk away.

As soon as Keilana was far enough away, the _Slave_'s engines roared and the ship took off into the night sky. She watched the ship until it disappeared and turned to look at the Jedi as they climbed onto roof she was standing on.

"Keilana!" Kyp and Jacen exclaimed as they saw her. She smiled and held up the datapad in her hand.

"Time to go home, Jedi. I've got everything we need."

"From…Fett?" Jacen asked, stopping in front of Keilana. She smiled and nodded.

"How?"

"Would you believe me when I said we are on speaking terms?"

"I guess I have to." Jacen paused, apparently thinking. "Didn't he shoot you?"

"Yeah."

"Then…"

"Don't think about it for too long, Jace."

Jaina found her opening. "Did he do it because he's your father?"

Keilana froze and all eyes went to Jaina. She suddenly felt very self-conscious though determined to get her question answered. Keilana was the first to move.

"I have the information we need." Keilana's tone was cold, defensive. She had thrown up all of her shields and the Jedi could barely feel her through the Force. Jaina had gotten the answer she needed. "We can go home now."

"Oh, I wouldn't count on that," came a female voice from the dark. The Jedi and Keilana spooked and drew their weapons as they spun in that direction. A blue skinned woman stepped into the circle of light the Jedi stood in and flashed a smile.

"Llywen," the Jedi said in unison. Despite the familiar face, Keilana wasn't focusing on the woman she thought she had killed—her eyes were on the bundle Llywen held in her arms.

"Jaxon…" Keilana's body started to shake with rage and when Kyp tried to put a hand on her shoulder he was repelled by a sudden force that rolled off of her. He looked up from the roof in time to see Keilana's eyes literally flash from their natural dark brown to an eerie colour green and back again as she clenched her hands into fists. The entire building started to shake and Llywen was thrown off her guard as Keilana's eyes flashed back to a clear green and remained that way. Those eyes belonged to her Crimelord… However, Llywen's moment of fear quickly dissipated as she rose her free hand and used the Force to throw Keilana to the side like a rag doll. Keilana's eyes rolled back in her head and she did not stand back up.

When the twins started to advance, their lightsabers drawn and thrumming, the Fin Ghula female laughed and jerked as bolts of lightening flashed from her fingers to engulf the twins. They, too, went down and remained still.

The blue-skinned female then turned to Kyp and smiled.

"Looks like this is the end of the road, Jedi," she said as she shut her fist.

The world around Kyp went dark.


	12. Untold Lies

A/N: A long time in waiting but an incredibly important chapter to get correct. Enjoy.

---

Untold Lies

"Crimelord," Pietr said, bowing down on one knee. The Crimelord looked down on the man and told him to rise.

"Yes?"

"Communication from your mercenary Jedi; she wishes to speak directly with you."

"Put her through." The Crimelord gestured with one long hand and Pietr obeyed. Llywen's image flashed in the middle of the throne room and she kneeled, her head bowed, before speaking.

"I have the child," Llywen said, her yellow eyes flashing.

"And Keilana?"

"The bounty hunter is unharmed, Mistress."

---

"Nobody is answering the hails, Luke," Mara said, turning in her seat. Her jade eyes were hazy; she hadn't slept since Jax had disappeared. "What if something has happened to them, too?"

"Considering the odd situation, it is entirely possible." Luke was leaning forward on a low table, his shoulders sagging in exhaustion. He didn't look up at his wife as he spoke; his hair curtained his eyes. "I've hardly been able to feel Keilana and now Kyp's and the twins' presences have dimmed as well. I'm surprised Leia hasn't become hysterical."

As if on cue, Leia Organa Solo came bursting through the doors.

"Luke! Has something happened with the mission…again?" Her eyes were puffy and red, evidence that she had been crying. "Jacen's presence spiked and then fell dark and I can't even feel Jaina."

Han entered a few moments later and stood as a silent shadow behind his wife. He placed a large hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her and looked at his brother-in-law.

"What's going on, Luke?"

The Jedi Master glanced at the older man and sighed. "I don't know. I don't understand any of this."

The room fell silent as Luke held Han's gaze. Mara continued her attempts to contact the mission and Leia simply stared at a spot on the floor.

"You can't keep doing this, Luke," Leia said at length. "I want my children back."

"They're adults now, Leia."

"They're barely eighteen."

"They've seen more than most people their age, Leia. The twins are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. Besides, Kyp and Keilana are there with them."

"I don't trust Keilana," Leia said forcefully. "And I can't believe that you do."

"She's earned my trust."

"Dammit, Luke! She tried to turn you in for a profit!"

Luke fell silent and cast a dark gaze on his sister. "She's a mother too, Leia."

"What does that have to do with this?"

"Have you not stopped to think that her child is missing as well?"

Leia paused. "I'm still not sure I see the relevance of the point."

Luke sighed and shook his head. "I'm only saying that it is entirely possible that they are out searching for Jax and are therefore incommunicado. Depending on how close they are to the child, Keilana could very well have made the executive decision to cut out all comm use."

The princess seemed to think about Luke's explanation before sweeping her head slowly from side to side. "Do you believe that, Luke?"

"What else is there to believe? I hardly believe that Kyp and Keilana could have happened across something they can't defeat. They're both strong and with the twins there to help them…" He simply trailed off. It was obvious that Luke was trying to convince himself as well as his sister.

"You have too much faith in them, Luke."

"Sometimes faith is all that you can have."

---

Keilana opened her eyes and suddenly wished that she hadn't. The room was full of light and the mirrors on the walls only magnified it to a blinding level. And it was hot; hotter than Keilana could stand. Groaning, she tried to roll onto her side to see if the others were near. Kyp lay unconscious not three feet away and the twins were nowhere to be seen. After a moment, Keilana sat up and cried out in pain. She was covered in bruises and could hardly move without excruciating pain ripping through her body. Her captors had not been gentle.

Lying still, Keilana allowed her eyes to adjust to the light—it was difficult despite the implant. As she did this, Keilana tugged at the bindings that held her hands behind her back. They did not budge nor did she expect them to. Muttering curses in Mandalorian, Keilana sat up again—more slowly this time—and started to study the space she and Kyp were in.

The room was small, that much was clear, and there was no obvious exit. Each wall of the octagonal room was covered from floor to ceiling with a single large mirror that simply reflected everything. The room felt thousands of times bigger than it actually was. The source of the light was directly overhead and Keilana did not even dare to look up for fear of blinding herself permanently.

Blowing out her frustration, Keilana tugged at her bindings once again and looked at Kyp as he started to stir. Before he could open his eyes, she instructed him not to.

"You'll blind yourself, Kyp," she said under her breath; she was sure the room was bugged. "And the last thing we need at the moment is a blind Jedi."

"I'd get along well enough with my other senses," Kyp retorted as he sat up, his eyes barely open. After a moment he asked: "Where are we?"

"I…don't know." Keilana said. "In some kind of torture device I would assume. Either that or someone's cruel idea of a holding cell."

"It could be both," Kyp said, squinting. Keilana frowned but didn't say anything.

After a moment of silence, Keilana asked Kyp to turn around so that she could get a look at his bindings.

"Those aren't coming off anytime soon," she concluded.

"I didn't think so," Kyp said as he turned back to her. He regarded her for a moment before asking: "How are you holding up?"

Keilana shook her head. "I'm falling to pieces, Kyp. I can't sense him; I can't feel if he is in pain or if he is fine. In fact, I can barely touch the Force here. It's worse than Geonosis."

_Her influence is crossing the galaxy_… Keilana shook her head, trying to rid her mind of her grandfather's words. "Something powerful is dampening the Force, Kyp, but, somehow, it feels unintentional…"

"What do you mean?"

Keilana shook her head slowly. "I don't know. I just don't get the feeling of oppression here, just simple suppression as if the Force…" Keilana trailed off.

"As if the Force what?"

"I don't know, Kyp. I don't understand any of this."

The two were silent for a moment, their sight downcast in an attempt to shield the brightness of the mirrors. Just as Keilana looked back to Kyp, her mouth open as if about to speak, one of the mirrors in the ceiling slid to the side and the twins—Jacen then Jaina—fell through. Jacen grunted as he landed on his shoulder and barely had time to roll out of the way so that his sister did not fall on top of him. Kyp and Keilana exchanged glances before crawling at the best of their ability to the siblings. Jacen had been stripped down to the waist, his fresh tattoo red and bleeding as if someone had been prodding it roughly. Fresh bruises discoloured his abdomen and back and it was obvious to both of the adults that the young man was in a great deal of pain. Jaina, who looked no better than her brother but still fully clothed, grimaced and sat up first. It was instantly apparent that she was indeed the less injured of the two, for Jacen simply laid on his chest, his back arched in order to put little pressure on his bruised stomach. His eyes remained shut in a silent grimace.

"What happened to you two?" Keilana asked softly, her gaze lingering on Jacen.

Jaina drew in a shuddering breath as she shook her head. "Terrible things," she said softly. "They didn't touch me as they did Jacen but they made me see things, horrible things. I saw Coruscant burning and heard the screams of young children as the Temple blazed the brightest of all." Tears sprang to the young woman's eyes as she squeezed them shut. "They didn't even ask me any questions…"

Keilana's distaste for the girl was momentarily forgotten as she sat back on her haunches, pity in her eyes as Jaina continued to speak.

"What do they want from us?"

"I don't even know who _they_ are, Jaina," Keilana lifted her shoulders in a shrug as her eyes went to Jacen. "What did they do to him?"

"Kicked him around, mostly. One man rubbed at the script on his collarbone until it started to bleed as he made crude remarks. That's when they showed me the images. I recognized the woman who did it but I could not put a name to her face even though I feel as if I should. She was a friend but her name was somehow…displaced." Jaina shook her head. "When I came to they had Jacen stretched out on a rack as they asked him questions about…" she looked at Keilana "…about you."

"Me?"

"They said their boss was very interested in you."

Keilana's breath caught in her throat.

"What is it?" Kyp said, forcing his eyes off of Jacen.

"The Arm," Keilana said softly. If not for the tone of the woman's voice, Jaina would have laughed out loud.

"Who?"

"A crime organization. They offered me the Skywalker job as well as…" Here Keilana trailed off, her eyes drifting to the floor.

"As well as what?" Jaina asked, suddenly suspicious.

"As well as the Trigen job."

"_What?_"

"You heard what I said, Solo," Keilana said, an edge creeping into her voice. "Trigen had a bounty on his head and it was offered to me. That's the original reason behind my interest in this mission."

"I knew it," Jaina said dangerously. "I knew you had an ulterior motive to joining the mission."

"I'm not going to try to explain myself," Keilana responded calmly. "I was offered a bounty and it intrigued me so I asked to be allowed to join you three. Your uncle, though suspicious, allowed me to come along and I now believe that he meant this as a test to my loyalties."

"I'd say that you failed miserably," Jaina snorted. "Does he know who you are?"

Keilana drew in a sharp breath as her eyes widened despite the brightness of the room. A smile crept across Jaina's face as Kyp studied the two women.

"What are you getting at, Jaina?" Kyp said after a moment.

"It's a simple question, really," Jaina said with a shrug that was almost nonchalant. "Does my uncle know who you are?"

"He knows that I used to be a bounty hunter, yes, but so does the rest of the Academy. What are you implying?"

"I think you know," Jaina said darkly. The tone of her voice made Jacen momentarily forget his pain as his eyes opened slightly, his gaze shifting between the two women.

"Calm down," he croaked. The others did not know who he was talking to.

"I think you have to explain it to me, Solo," Keilana said softly, dangerously, as she rocked back on her heels.

"Does my uncle know who your father is?"

Keilana's eyes narrowed to two dark slits.

"Yes." Keilana's answer was simple but her tone deadly. Even without the Force, Kyp could feel the darkness within the woman break against the walls she had constructed; it had been growing since Geonosis.

"Who else knows?" Jaina's tone, though not as harsh as Keilana's, was dangerously close.

"What does it concern you, girl?" Keilana was on her feet ready to fight despite the bindings that held her wrists together.

Jaina stood as well, her eyes on fire.

"Jaina, stop," Jacen said, his voice rough. It seemed as if he had been screaming.

"I will not stop," Jaina spat. "Don't you even care about who she is?"

"No," Jacen said. "No, I don't care. She is Keilana, that's all that matters." His sister's anger flared and Jacen grimaced. "Jaina, beware the darkness…"

"Shut up about the darkness, Jacen, I can handle myself!" Kyp stood, wary of the tone Jaina's voice had taken. The young woman gave him a harsh glare before turning back to Keilana. "How many others know about your heritage?"

"What does it concern you, Solo?"

"Because I don't want a bloody Fett running lose in the Academy!" Jaina screeched, the mirror's shaking momentarily. Jacen stood, too, despite his injuries, and stared at Keilana. "Because I don't want any further harm to come to my family! You Fetts have done enough to hurt us!"

"Don't you dare place the blame on me for what my father did to your father, Solo. It was never personal, you know. My father's personal battle has always been with the Jedi. Han Solo was just a job and a big payoff."

"You don't deny it then," Jacen said, his voice almost a whisper. "You don't deny that Boba Fett is your father."

"No, I don't," Keilana said at length. "And why should I? I am certainly not proud of it, but it's not as if I had any choice in the matter. I got away as soon as I could but the damage had already been done." Keilana seemed to resign as she collapsed to the floor, her legs crossed, her head bowed.

"And what of your son?" Jacen's voice was haunted. He had built a pedestal for Keilana and she had shattered it in less than a second.

"He holds my father's name…my name," Keilana said with a tone of further resignation. "I could not let him grow without a surname and I would have died before giving him the name of his father. I hate my mother more than my father for what she did to me so I was left with few options—Jaxon Fett."

Keilana could not believe she admitted this so openly but she no longer cared. She had lived with this burden on her shoulders for too long and she had to get it off before she was crushed beneath its weight. She was done lying to those she had grown to love.

The three Jedi and Keilana remained silent for a long time. No one moved and no one dared to look at each other, afraid of what might happen. Jaina's anger still flared while Kyp's pity for the woman caused his gaze to eventually settle on Keilana's back. Jacen's eyes had travelled to the floor as he attempted to reconcile with himself and Keilana simply stared at one of the mirrored walls without seeing it. She felt nothing.

After a time—hours? minutes?—one of the mirrored panels slid to the side and a blue-skinned female stepped into the room followed by several very large men. The grin she gave the Jedi was feral.

"How nice it is to meet you all again," she said, her voice smooth. Jaina's eyes narrowed as soon as she noticed the woman.

"I heard you had betrayed us, Llywen," she said darkly. Llywen du Kiins simply smiled wider, her sharp teeth glistening in the intense light of the cell.

"Not so much betrayal, Jaina, as realizing there was a better deal. I am still Jedi but here I can rid the galaxy of scum one bounty hunter at a time." Her golden gaze focused on Keilana. "Starting with the biggest thorn and working my way down."

"You cannot win while your soul is tainted by the dark side," Jaina said, her voice pained, her words so much like Jacen's. She and Llywen had been friends, once upon a time. They had shared secrets and victories; they had laughed together and they had wept for fallen comrades.

"My soul is no more tainted than yours, Jaina," the Fin Ghula said. "I have not given into the darkness. Instead I have found a new power in the raw Force, a power Skywalker has kept from us for he fears losing his control over his Jedi."

Kyp growled, drawing everyone's attention. "Luke has held no one back, Llywen, as you believe he has. He is cautious in what he teaches for he knows the corruption of the raw Force even if it is not originally used for a destructive or dark purpose. He fell as far as anyone and he came back to us more knowledgeable and cautious about his lessons."

"This from the World Destroyer," Llywen said, her tone amused. "You know better than anyone how good it feels to let loose and to feel the raw energies course through your veins, yours and yours alone to control."

Kyp grimaced as if fighting off his answer. "Yes, Llywen, I do know how it feels and for a time you feel invincible and so…powerful." Kyp shuddered and Keilana looked up at him. She could see the battle that raged deep inside his mind, the battle for control, for peace. "But it does not last and in time it will begin to corrupt. I can already see the taint that has settled around your shoulders."

"Enough!" The alien said, gnashing her teeth. "You talk and preach, Durran, to those who have touched the raw Force but you are blind to the corruption in those closest to your heart." She pointed at Keilana and all eyes fell on the woman. "I know you can feel the darkness that grows in her. How long before she can no longer hold it at bay?" Llywen tilted her head to one side before straightening her back, her tail flickering above her head. "Come, the Crimelord waits."

She motioned to the four guards who rushed forward, each with a heavy piece of cloth in their hands. The three Jedi tried to evade them by ducking beneath the men's heavy arms and slow reflexes; Keilana, who had remained on the floor, was the only one who did not fight. For the moment she did not care where the men would take her or what they would do on the way; the Crimelord wanted her alive so she did not have death to fear. As soon as she was blindfolded and on her feet she looked to the side, barely sensing Kyp through the Force.

"Don't fight them, Kyp," she said softly. The room fell silent and she could feel seven sets of eyes on her. Straightening her shoulders, she sighed. "The Crimelord wants us alive otherwise we would already be dead."

"But allowing them to blindfold us?" This question was from Jaina.

Keilana simply shrugged.

"I'd do it, too." She looked at Jaina despite being unable to see. "And I have."

With that, Keilana followed where the guard led her, her chin held high—all traces of the wreck she had been just moments before had disappeared.

---

Keilana and the Jedi were led, blindfolded, into the large throne room. It was quiet and empty except for the Crimelord, the four members of the Academy, Llywen du Kiins, and Pietr. There was silence until the Crimelord moved in the throne and gently started to speak.

"You cannot believe how long I have waited for this day to come, Keilana."

Keilana tensed, caught off her guard. She knew that voice; it was the woman from her dreams. The sounds of the muttering Jedi went unheard as she turned her face towards the throne.

"No…" Keilana said under her breath. She could sense the Crimelord's smile as the woman spoke again.

"Yes, my child."

"He told me you were dead." Keilana's voice was quiet, dangerous, and the three Jedi started to grow anxious, each unsure of what was going to happen. While they had sensed something was odd about the situation, they certainly hadn't expected a female Crimelord, nor had they even suspected that Keilana knew this woman.

"I have always had a knack for cheating death. Pietr?" She gestured to her assistant and he stepped towards Keilana. Keilana's muscles tensed, ready for a fight, and was surprised when the blindfold fell away instead. Blinking, she looked at the woman and shook her head slowly.

The Crimelord—as she called herself—had golden hair that curled as it reached her waist, held back by a silver filigree circlet that seemed out of place in the stone cavern that surrounded them. Her skin was porcelain and flawless making her age impossible to tell and Keilana could hear the Jedi gasp as their blindfolds fell away as well. The woman was beautiful and exquisitely dressed in a gown of crimson silk. But none of those features were what drew Keilana's attention. She cared only for the eyes—the eyes that had haunted her for so long. They were two spots of green so clear Keilana was unsure the woman had irises at all. But for all of their intensity and brightness, the woman looked at her four captives without seeing them. The Crimelord was blind.

The great hall was silent for a long time as the two women studied each other. The Crimelord brought one hand up to support her chin and Keilana immediately realized that the woman's left arm was almost completely gone—all that remained was half of her upper arm, the end decorated with an intricately woven cap of silver, gold, and precious stones.

"Why have you done this to me?"

"To protect you, Keilana. Your father did a shoddy job of sheltering you from the evils of the universe and I am here to make it all right. You no longer have to fear death or pain for I will keep you safe against my breast from now until forever." The woman grinned widely and Keilana stepped forward. The guards eyed their mistress, unsure of what to do and Keilana noticed for the first time the two large canines that rested by the Crimelord's throne. They looked up from where they slept and bared their teeth at the bounty hunter. Keilana stopped where she stood halfway between the Jedi and the throne, unwilling to draw any nearer to the large hounds.

After a moment of studying the Crimelord, she laughed, the mirthless sound filling the hall.

"Why would I come to you for safe keeping? You out of all the people in the galaxy?"

"I fear you have little choice in the matter, my darling," the Crimelord said with a slight smile. She shifted in her throne but did not rise. "However, you will have time to decide if you will come to me willingly. I do not want to harm you but if you choose not to comply I am afraid that your decision will be made for you and it will be painful."

"You can do nothing to hurt me," Keilana said defiantly, even as two guards took her elbows and a third pulled a piece of cloth over her eyes. Lifting her chin and standing her ground as the guards started to lead her away she smiled despite the difficulty of the expression. "And I will never let you harm me again. Kamino was the last straw and you are dead to me no matter what you try to pull. You are as dead as Dad told me you were."

"We will see about that, my child," the Crimelord said as Keilana allowed herself to be led from the hall.

---

Once they were back in their cell of light, the three Jedi turned on Keilana, all of them asking questions at once.

Keilana tilted her head and frowned. "One at a time, please. I can't understand anything any of you are saying."

The Jedi paused and, after looking at each other, it was Kyp who asked the first question.

"What was that back there?"

"The Crimelord," Keilana answered simply. She seemed to be in a strange mood, one Kyp had not seen for a long time. Her walls were up and her stance, though seated, was defensive and ready to strike at a moment's notice. She then laughed, the sound holding no joy. "A woman."

"Well…yes," Kyp said, furrowing his brow. "But she knows you and you her."

"Of course," Keilana said, a frightening smile on her face. Kyp gave her an odd look, as did the twins. They all thought her delirious.

"I don't follow," Jacen said.

Keilana laughed again, the sound painful and grating in the three Jedis' ears.

"Jacen, she's my mother."


	13. Close to Nothing at All

A/N: First off: Happy Second Birthday, Untold Lies! I made sure this chapter was finished just for the occasion. And, wow, I can't believe it's taken this long and it's still not done. Thanks for hanging in there, everyone. You don't know how much I appreciate the support and the reviews. Now, as for some business: The lyrics at the end of the chapter come from the song "Amie" by Damien Rice. I took the liberty of changing a few of the lyrics so that it would fit better with the story (i.e. exchanging _ baby_ for _Amie_ and _all_ for _O_) but otherwise, the song is as sung.

---

Close to Nothing at All

"Your…_what?_" Jaina exclaimed, standing up. "Sithspit, no wonder you are the way you are. Your father is Boba Fett and your bloody mother is an insane crime lord…lady, whatever. Given the choice I think I would have gone with Fett as well."

Keilana furrowed her brow at the young woman. "I didn't have a choice in the matter, Solo. My mother was nothing more than a gutterrat when I was born and would have thrown me into a dumpster had she not found my father when she did. I grew up believing that she was dead despite the fact that I had seen her once or twice in my youth. The most memorable meeting was when I was eight and my father brought me to Kamino for safe keeping."

"Where?" Jacen asked, intrigued.

"An ocean planet inhabited by cloners. They grew the original clone army, you know. Anyway, my father brought me there because he knew they would keep me safe. Don't ask why." Keilana said, holding up a hand to fend off Jaina's question. "He just knew. However, as soon as we came in from the storm and before we even had a chance to dry off, we ran into my mother. She looked sickly and I have never put a mind as to why she was there. It didn't take long before she and my father got into an argument concerning me and she said that she did not want me anymore. That was the first time I truly knew hate."

Keilana fell silent and bowed her head, looking at her booted toes. At length, she spoke again, her voice haunted. "I don't know why she wants me now. The only reason I have is that she went insane. I could see it in her eyes." Keilana shuddered violently. "She was in a lot of trouble after she abandoned me and I can only explain her continued existence with a loss of mind due to torture. For many, that's just as good as death—better in some cases."

"She could be a clone," Jacen suggested. "After all, you said that you saw her among the cloners."

Keilana shook her head sharply, cutting the boy off.

"I'd be able to tell," she said. "Again, don't ask me why." Keilana smiled to herself, remembering the incident on Kamino when she had run into one of her grandfather's clones that had appeared her age. The two had stared at each other for a moment before Keilana scooted by, shocked by the fact that the boy had almost filled the gap left by her father's absence. Almost.

"Um…Keilana?"

Snorting in surprise, Keilana looked up at Kyp.

"Sorry, I just thought of something funny."

"Care to share?" Jacen asked. "A little humor might help."

"Not really, Jacen. I don't think you would understand."

"Okay," Jacen said, quirking an eyebrow. "I could always…"

"Please, Jacen, not one of your jokes," Jaina said. Kyp had a similar expression on his face and Jacen looked slightly offended.

"You laughed when we were studying on Yavin Four."

"Only so your feelings wouldn't be hurt, Jace. You should have heard what Tenel Ka said regarding the jokes."

"I would rather not, thank you." Jacen sort of deflated which drew a strained laugh out of Keilana.

"You can tell me your jokes when we get out of this mess, Jacen," Keilana said with a smile. Jacen looked up and laughed as well.

"No, Keilana, you really don't. Sith, they were bad weren't they?" He looked at his sister who nodded enthusiastically.

Though short, the exchange had taken everyone's minds off of the Crimelord, at least for the moment. Soon, however, the heat started to penetrate their clothing and the light became more intense. Keilana turned from the others and started to mumble to herself as she flexed her toes in her boots. At one point she tested the strength of her bonds again but to no avail. They were just as strong now as they had been before—not that Keilana had really expected a change. The testing simply took her mind off of the heat and the light.

It did not take long for Keilana and the others to lose track of time. They slept, they spoke; from time to time food and water would drop from the ceiling and the four prisoners would eat and drink to the best of their ability since their bonds were still in place.

More than once the subject of Keilana's mother was brought up. She was reluctant to discuss what she knew—which was very little—and had no mind to discuss what everything meant. Instead, Keilana spent her time drowning in sorrow over losing her son and burning in rage over the fact that her supposedly dead mother had outwitted her.

After a time—Keilana had lost track how long—one of the mirrored panels slid to the side and Llywen du Kiins stepped through, shielding her eyes from the light. Keilana stood and the Jedi were quick to follow.

"You're coming with me, Fett," Llywen said, glancing past Keilana's shoulder. "The rest of you stay put."

Nodding to the large man beside her, Llywen turned from the room as he blindfolded Keilana; she did not put up a fight.

They led her out of the light and into a passageway beyond that seemed as dark as space to Keilana's covered eyes. She quickly became disoriented and—upon hearing Llywen's cackle of glee—she assumed it was intentional. All the better for her captors if she could not find her way around the enclave, even after being led from one place to another while blindfolded.

After seven turns and as many long passageways (Keilana could still count, after all), the small party came to a halt. Keilana could immediately feel her mother's presence as well as…

"Jaxon!" Keilana cried, her voice strained and anguished. She heard distant laughter from both the alien Jedi and the woman sitting on the throne. Something inside of Keilana started to burn and she cried out again, this time without words. But no matter how hard she begged, the blindfold stayed in place.

"Please! Please let me see my baby. Oh, Jaxon…" Keilana started to cry as her knees gave way to her weight. Before she could fall, however, a large hand reached out and gripped her shoulder tighter than necessary. Keilana struggled and cried out that she would beg and grovel if she could just see her son, but Aena simply clicked her tongue.

"Your father raised you to be weak, girl. I would have no child of mine beg at my feet. You know that he is here and safe; that should be enough."

Keilana wailed but Aena said nothing more on the subject.

"He is a handsome child, my darling, for being a bastard. I hear that you even turned his father in for a lovely sum to the Hutts. I'm sure he died painfully for the scandal he was involved in; the Hutts are very talented in that way." Aena seemed to smile but Keilana could not know for sure. "I admire them for their skill."

"Is that why you built that _thing_ you've kept us in?" Keilana's voice was rough, her throat raw from screaming. Jaxon had not made a sound.

Aena laughed. "No, no, that idea I got from a story I happened across years ago."

Keilana furrowed her brow suddenly as she pushed away her pain.

"Why have you brought me here?"

"To see if you are ready to come to me. Young Jaxon will be safe in your arms if you choose to comply."

"Don't you dare speak his name."

"Whose, dear? Jaxon's?" Aena laughed at Keilana's growl.

"I take it that is a _no_. Well, I guess I shouldn't expect so much from my own little bastard. Take her out of my sight."

Keilana struggled against the hand that closed around her elbow and kicked out as someone else came near. Despite that, she was quickly manhandled down the hall, kicking and swearing the whole way out of the throne room. Had the Force not suddenly slipped from her grasp, Keilana would have let the storm inside of her rage free.

---

Luke sat up in his sleep, shaking and wiping a cold sweat from his brow. Mara, who lay at his side, stirred and turned to look at him through sleepy eyes.

"What is it, Luke?" She asked, her voice heavy. This was the first time either of them had been able to sleep since the mission had gone missing three days before.

"Something…dark. I can't explain it but it seemed so real, so…powerful."

Mara sat up and turned up the lights so she could get a clear look at her husband. His skin was pale, his hair soaked with sweat, and his blue eyes were shining dark. The Jedi Master seemed truly afraid of what he had seen. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Luke crossed to the large window and stood there with his arms closed over his chest. Mara watched from the bed, afraid to draw near.

"There was a man," Luke said at length as he stared into the night. "A man with dark hair and eyes so clear he seemed to have no irises at all. Though trained as one of us, his anger was enough to tear the galaxy in two, which he was on the brink of doing. People feared him but loved him enough to follow him to their graves." Luke glanced back at Mara, tears glistening in his eyes. "Such will become of Keilana's son if touched by darkness."

"Luke… Is that what woke you?"

"Not tonight; not exactly. That came to me earlier. No, what pulled me from my sleep was something I have feared for over a year now; Keilana is on the point of break down. She is strong but I fear that the darkness raging inside is about to break loose, which it nearly did tonight. Despite her disappearance in the Force I got a flash of hatred so intense that it drove right to my very being." Luke brought a hand up to his face and touched his eyelids lightly with his fingertips. He stood there without moving until Mara started to stand.

"No," he said firmly. "No, Mara, I need to think on this alone."

Before she could argue, Luke pushed aside the glass door and stepped out onto the balcony beyond. He rounded a corner and climbed the side of the building until he reached the roof. Once settled, he leaned against a low wall and stared out over Coruscant, the lights of the city blazing and lighting the sky so that no stars shimmered above his head.

Luke was so deep into his thoughts that he did not notice the roof's other occupant until the man growled in his ear.

"Where is she, Skywalker?"

Luke jumped in spite of himself and started to mutter curses that caught on the tip of his tongue as soon as he turned.

Not four feet away stood the silhouette of a man in Mandalorian armor, but it was enough for Luke to recognize him.

"I don't know," Luke said after his initial shock. "I don't know where any of them are; not Keilana, not the twins, not Jaxon…"

Fett's frame seemed to stiffen at the mention of his grandson. Obviously he hadn't heard about the boy. Luke watched him carefully, fully aware that the other man had a great deal of weapons while he himself had none. Despite that, Luke doubted Boba Fett was here for him.

"Fucking Jedi," Fett muttered almost too low for Luke to hear. The Jedi was about to ask what the bounty hunter meant when he quickly remembered that despite their mutual interest in Keilana, they held nothing else in common. Shaking his head, Luke continued to watch the man carefully, ready to act if the need arose.

However, Fett simply turned and stalked away from Luke for a moment before looking back over his shoulder, light reflecting off the T-shaped visor.

"You have heard nothing?"

Luke shook his head slowly from side to side, dumbfounded that Fett was here asking him these questions. The last thing Luke imagined the bounty hunter to be was a worried parent and the fact that he was made Luke's mind swirl.

"All I know is that both mother and child are in grave danger," Luke said carefully, his eyes trained on Boba Fett as the bounty hunter turned away once again. Fett paused as if to inspect the side of a very tall pinnacle before he started towards Luke once again. In the faint light, the Jedi Master noticed for the first time that Fett had a blaster rifle clenched in his hands. Luke's mind started to race when the other man paused and tilted his head to the side as if studying the younger man.

"I don't know why she chose your path, Skywalker." Fett sounded pained and it hurt Luke's ear to hear the rough voice carry such a tone. It seemed wrong to hear any sort of emotion from the man who had hunted Han and himself for so many years.

"The Force is a strange thing."

Fett swore in the language Luke had heard Keilana use on occasion and turned so that his shadowed profile was all Luke could make out.

The two men stood without moving for a long time before Fett suddenly turned on Luke and advanced. Before the Jedi could do anything, Fett took him by the throat and pulled him against the cold metal of his armor. Luke winced and was ready if Fett tried anything more.

"The only thing I know is that Aena Lytio is back from the dead and is seeking Keilana with all of her resources. I don't know where her operation is set up nor if she has succeeded only that if that woman manages to reach Keilana in any way, my daughter will be lost from us forever." The two men were silent for a moment as they held each other's gaze through Fett's visor. When Fett spoke next, his voice was dangerous. "You won't speak of this to anyone."

Before Luke could answer, the bounty hunter pushed him away and turned for the far side of the vast roof. He was lost in the shadows within moments and all Luke heard of the man's departure was the roar of a jet pack. A fire moved across the sky but was lost the moment Luke turned in that direction, his mind still whirling. How had Fett known that he knew about Keilana's parentage? He hadn't spoken of it to anyone, not even his wife. Luke shook his head slowly.

It was a long time before he could take his eyes off the spot where Fett had disappeared. Rubbing at his neck when he finally did, Luke sat on the rooftop and held his face in his hands desperate for any knowledge that would lead him to his missing Jedi and Keilana.

The Jedi Master stayed where he was until dawn broke the horizon and did not move until Mara appeared on the rooftop, closely followed by Ganner. Both Jedi hurried to Luke's side but it was only Mara who reached him; Ganner hung back, watching to two Masters from a distance.

"Luke," Mara said softly as she tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "Have you been up here all night?"

Luke only answered with a nod; he didn't even look at his wife.

"But why? Have you thought of anything or anywhere they might have gone off to?"

"I've tried Mara, I have, but none of this makes sense. It's almost as if they've vanished into thin air. I don't know what to do." As he turned to his wife, he noticed Ganner for the first time. He did not vocalize his question but instead looked at Mara, his brow furrowed.

"News came very early this morning that Trigen was found dead in the Outer Rim. According to the reports, he's been dead for weeks now, killed even before the mission left Coruscant." Mara said this with her brow knit and a slight laugh in her voice even though there was nothing humorous about the news. "Ganner thinks that this all might have been a set up. Apparently Keilana contacted him just before they went missing, warning him that Jaxon wasn't safe, not even in the Academy; that…that's when we discovered that he had been taken. Luke, what's happening?"

"I wish I knew, my love," Luke said, his eyes still trained on Ganner. The big Jedi turned to glance at his Master and Luke could see the tears that rimmed his eyes. Before Luke could say anything, Ganner mumbled an excuse and left the rooftop in a haste and a billow of his black robe. Luke could hear the hammer of Ganner's feet on the steps before the door fully closed.

"He thinks Jaxon's disappearance is his fault and has been beating himself up ever since. That boy has changed him for the better and I think Ganner is afraid of what he would become if he let the child die."

"Jaxon is not going to die, Mara," Luke said firmly, pulling his wife into a tight embrace. Mara rested her chin on Luke's shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that had formed. "And the others will come back to us safe and sound as well. I have faith in Keilana, dearest. She's strong and she will find a way to get everybody out of whatever trouble they've come across."

---

Kyp looked up as one of the mirrors slid to the side and Keilana was shoved through. Her male escort ripped the blindfold away from her eyes rougher than necessary and pushed Keilana to the floor before he left. The woman stayed where she was, sobbing and trembling as she curled into a ball to hide her tears from the Jedi. Kyp looked at the twins over Keilana before he crawled to her side.

"What happened? Keilana, speak to me. Did she hurt you?"

Keilana looked at Kyp and his heart broke in two. He had never seen pain like he saw in Keilana's eyes. Her cheeks were streaked with tears and her eyes red; the utter despair in the woman's expression was almost too much to bear. Kyp found himself straining to keep his eyes on Keilana.

"She has him, Kyp," Keilana said at a whisper, her voice cracking as she held back a wail. The twins exchanged glances and moved closer to the two adults. "She took Jaxon and…and…" Keilana's sentence was cut by the scream that ripped through her body and shook the mirrors. The scream quickly turned into a wail and further sobbing as she heard her mother's voice echo through her head, joined by the words of her grandfather and father.

"I should have gone back to him, Kyp, the moment he told me something was wrong. We should never have gone to Nar Shadda; we should never have…" Keilana started to cough and dry heave but she did not vomit. After a moment, she curled up into a ball and started to tremble harder than before. Kyp gave the twins a look that told them to leave them be. Though the room was small, Jacen and Jaina stood up and went as far away as they possibly could.

As soon as they had moved away, Kyp reached out for the Force and strained to find it. The moment he did, he pulled his wrists apart with a mighty heave and broke through the restraints that had held them behind his back. Ignoring his own pain and the blood that dripped from the wounds he had opened, Kyp gathered Keilana up in his arms and smoothed her hair out of her face.

"It's not your fault, Keilana," he said gently. Crossing his legs, he pulled the woman into his lap like a child and held her close. Though out of tears, Keilana continued to sob, her mouth open in silent wails. Kyp simply held her and let her do what she had to.

After a long time, Keilana looked up at Kyp with her red eyes and whispered: "Tell me it's going to be all right, Kyp."

"I don't know that it is. I think we've gotten ourselves into more then we can handle on our own."

"No, Kyp," Keilana said, grabbing his arm. "Tell me that it is going to be okay. Make me believe that I will hold my son again and that we will be happy. Make me believe it. You have to—_I_ have to."

Before he went on, Kyp looked up at the twins. They both appeared to be on the verge of tears themselves as they watched Keilana fall to pieces right before their eyes. They had seen a lot in their lives and had seen friends die but never had either of them witnessed something so terrible as the scene that now took place in front of them. This woman who had once managed to capture Luke Skywalker within the walls of his own school; who had always been so sure of herself and of her abilities, was falling apart and pulling them all with her. She appeared as if she could barely function, cradled as she was in Kyp's arms. Jaina turned to her brother and shook her head.

"I can't hate her anymore, Jacen. She's human, just like the rest of us. I can't…I can't even imagine going through what she's dealing with right now."

Before Jacen could answer her or stop her, Jaina stood and went to Kyp and Keilana. She fell to her knees in front of the two of them and dropped her head; her hair came loose from its braid and fell around her face.

"We'll find him, Keilana,"she said, looking into the other woman's eyes. "And everything will be okay."

A weak smile crossed Keilana's lips as she sat up to rest her cheek against Jaina's shoulder in an odd sort of hug. Rather than pulling away, Jaina placed her chin on Keilana's shoulder and glanced at Kyp, holding his gaze with hers. Tilting her head towards Keilana's, Jaina closed her eyes and started to whisper a song her mother had once sung to her…

_ Something unusual, something strange  
Comes from nothing at all_  
_ But I'm not a miracle  
And you're not a saint  
Just another soldier  
On a road to nowhere  
Baby, come sit on my wall  
And read me the story of all  
Tell it like you still believe  
That at the end of the century  
There is a change for you and me…_


	14. Spectres

A/N: Well, it's been awhile once again. This time, however, it was simply out of laziness, I fear. This chapter has been done for ages but then review week happened, followed by finals weeks, followed by a month of utter mental exhaustion also know as the winter holidays. So, to say the least, this should have been posted six-point-five weeks ago. I'm not sure if it's the beginning of a new term that's kicked me into action or if it's the realization that I haven't updated in nearly four months. At any rate, this story is, sadly, coming to a close so the next few chapters may be a little while in coming since they have to be perfect. They are, for the most part, already written, but now it is time for the perfection stage to begin. Until then, happy reading!

---

Spectres

Boba Fett had spent nearly a week trying to find his daughter and grandson. His stop at the Jedi Temple had been of little help as the Jedi knew less than he did and it had taken a good deal of money to get the information he needed and now had. Though unsure of what it was that drove him, Fett felt as if he had to find his daughter. Now. If he did not, he was certain that he would never see her again, nor would he ever meet his grandson.

The word had been a tough one to get used to. Grandson. Grandfather.

"Hell," he muttered as he picked up the detached barrel of his rifle. There were times when he was still having difficulty accepting the fact that he was a father, let alone a grandfather. Sighing, Fett placed the barrel at his side and stood up, stretching his legs. They were sore from being crossed and Fett cursed; he was getting old, which was not something he liked admitting, even to himself. Especially to himself. Still, he reasoned, compared to most men his age, he was in peak physical condition. The enhancements, genetic manipulation, and limb replacements didn't hurt, either. A slight smile crossed his scarred lips as he walked to a small viewport in order to take in the star streaks of hyperspace. He had spent a lifetime's worth of money to stay at the top of his game and it was something so small as cramped leg muscles that made him remember how old he really was. That and remembering that his daughter was old enough to have a son of her own. The thought made him frown, as did the proximity alarm that suddenly rang through the ship.

Turning and starting to run down the hall, Fett was thrown into the cockpit and against a wall of instruments and panels as his ship was jerked out of hyperspace. He growled and started to curse viciously as he pulled himself up into his seat and took in the space around him. Surprisingly, he was not tumbling madly through space and was, instead, sitting quite still. He checked his instruments only to find them snowed over before pulling on the headset that was talking to him. Turning his ship to port, Fett swore quite magnificently.

"…Myian Rah'Thalla, Captain of the _Lyian Rhapsody_. Do not arm your weapons or bring any additional systems online or we will be forced to take action."

Rather than trying a diplomatic approach to the whole situation, Fett immediately took offense. He had no time for games. However, rather than just attempting to dart out of there, Fett started to test his instruments and bring his backups online. When he realized that he would need some time for everything to come up, he began to talk.

"Who the fuck do you think you are to pull me out of 'space like that? This is unclaimed territory which means it doesn't belong to your damn Cluster."

There was silence.

"It has been ordered by the Prime Minister that Commodore Garen Thain Gil Myian Rah'Thalla keep this sector under blockade until further notice, Captain. If you agree to turn around and return to your place of departure we will not cause you any further distress."

"And if I choose not to comply?" Fett asked as he switched to his sublight engines and started to warm them up. A swarm of TIEs appeared above the white capital ship in the viewport.

"Please shut down all systems, _Deuce_. You have been asked already and the Commodore has little patience for people who do not follow the orders they are given."

Glancing at his displays, Fett replied. "He's not gonna like me, then."

The TIEs started to break up into flights and wingpairs as they moved a little closer.

"This is your final warning, Captain. Stand down or we will be forced to fire upon you."

Fett just needed a few more minutes. However, it was growing increasingly obvious that the Lyians wanted him out of system in order to keep some big secret and he had a strong feeling that it had something to do with Keilana. He had heard of her trouble in the Cluster and was quite proud when he learned of her escape from their prison system some years ago. The Lyians disliked bounty hunters and fugitives far more than they disliked Outsiders.

"Tell your Commodore that Keilana probably isn't going anywhere." It was risky bringing up her name but it seemed to work. The TIEs retreated slightly as the comm clicked.

"What do you know of Cluster business, Captain?" A gruff voice asked; Fett could only assume he had been patched through to Commodore Garen Thain.

"Lucky guess," Fett said as he fed energy to his engines via a foot pedal. The _Slave_ roared and jerked against the tractor beam keeping it in place. The TIEs shot forward a kilometer. "But thanks for confirming my suspicions."

There was silence for a long time and Fett stayed where he was, quite content that he had caused some trouble. In fact, confident with his ability to escape, he put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his seat, watching the TIEs and the gleaming ship in front of him.

"I believe you are withholding information, Captain," the Commodore said after a time. "What do you know of Keilana?"

"Quite a bit, actually," Fett said with a grin that came through his words. "She's about one-point-seven-seven meters tall, sixty kilos, nearly twenty-three years of age, brown hair, brown eyes, Lyian by heritage, a very skilled bounty hunter. Shall I go on?"

"Only if you know something that we don't," the Commodore replied, anger edging into his voice. Fett simply grinned. The information he had given really didn't mean anything, especially to people who had all of it in prison records and criminal files. His daughter's Lyian-heritage was a recent discovery and he was sure the Lyians at least suspected it, if they did not know for sure. Apparently Aena Lytio's father (Keilana's maternal grandfather) had been a well-to-do Lyian business man connected to a powerful crime syndicate within the Cluster. Aena, who had been accepted into the syndicate as a young woman, had been a rather skilled assassin before being banished from the Cluster due to a messy job and the discovery of her allegiances. That was when her fall had started and Fett was sure she had hit rock bottom some time in the past several years. He did not know what had happened to his daughter's mother, except that she had somehow escaped death and was now hiding in the Outer Rim.

"I'm sure I do," Fett said simply. "But I'm not just giving it up. I'd expect a hefty sum for this intel, if I choose to share it, that is."

Leaning forward and placing his hands on the yokes, Fett checked his displays. He had stalled long enough; his engines would be able to rip him out of the tractor beam with little damage to the ship.

"And what is so valuable about your supposed information for me to initiate this exchange?"

Fett grinned even though the Commodore wouldn't be able to see it and slammed his foot down on a small pedal to feed extra fuel to the engines.

"I know where she is, is all," he said just before shooting off for deep space. Plotting a course, Fett made a microjump away from the ship as soon as he was out of the interdictor's range. Checking his displays to make sure he hadn't been followed, Fett started plotting another, longer jump that would take him to a system near his final destination.

At first, he ignored the alarm that started buzzing over his head. Hitting a button to silence it, he went back to his work until a female voice filled his ear.

"Captain," it said. Fett literally jumped in his seat and swore. "That is no language to speak in the presence of a woman."

"Then don't sneak up on me like that," he said, swinging his ship around until he came into visual contact with a TIE and its two wingmates. Phantoms. Great. The tips of their stabilizers started to glow as the cannons powered up and Fett swore to himself this time. For some unexplained reason, however, he was not compelled to move.

"Captain," the woman said again, "I was originally sent out here to bring you back to the _Rhapsody_. However, upon your final statement, I made the split decision to pursue you for my own reasons."

"And what are those reasons? To get revenge on the fugitive bounty hunter?"

"No, to return a favor. She saved my life and I did not succeed in saving hers upon my safe return home. If it is discovered that I followed you to help with Keilana's well-being, I will be banished from the Cluster and stripped of my names and rank, but I have decided that this is well worth it. I cannot allow a favor to go unreturned and I will not live the rest of my life waiting for an opportunity. I am in her debt."

Fett rose his brow, impressed by the woman's speech. There was just one thing he was confused about…

"How do you know that she's in danger?"

"There have been…rumors," she said slowly. "Rumors that she has been captured by a crime syndicate working out of the Cluster. Keilana would hardly draw a capital ship, an interdictor, a squadron of Phantoms—my Eidolon Squad, no less—and fifteen flights of TIEs out of Lye on her own. No, the Commodore is planning on capturing a wanted criminal and destroying a syndicate all in one blow."

"And you believe this syndicate has Keilana?"

"Yes," the woman said. "Now, I am only confused as to why you are here looking for her."

"My reasons are my own."

"I see," the woman clipped. "Well, if we are going to be working together, I do expect a bit more honesty. "

"Whoa there, woman," Fett growled, his eyes narrowing at her through the void of space. He could see her moving in her cockpit. "Who says we'll be working together?"

"I do," the woman said. "My name is Seva Caiterina Rai'en Rasputin Se'Czaria, daughter to Lord Severus Rai'en Aidale Nytel Se'Czaria of the Second House of the Katana of the planet Lye. I demand that you tell me your name or this agreement will be very short."

Fett smiled to himself. He had hardly believed his decoy signal had worked on the capital ship and the fact that this woman didn't recognize his ship was almost too much. This would be fun.

"I don't exist, my Lady. My name is of no importance."

Seva growled something in her native language and Fett chuckled.

"My pleasure to accommodate you, too. Now if you want to honor your debt to Keilana, you will connect your navicomputers to mine and allow me full control of navigation."

"How do I know that you aren't leading us into a trap."

"You don't, but you'll just have to trust me. I don't like this anymore than you do, Lady, but I'd rather not rot in your prison and I'm sure that you would like to live the remainder of your life inside the Cluster. Either you give up control or I book it out of here and leave you to your Commodore. I have little preference."

The comm clicked and Fett turned back to his computer. He had patience after raising Keilana but time was short and he didn't have enough to waste on a snotty politician's daughter. Her conflicts were none of his concern.

Just as he was about to give up on the Lyians and jump, the comm clicked in his ear and Seva's voice came through.

"We are patching through to your computers now, Captain. My wingmates are not pleased nor am I."

"This isn't a picnic for me, either," Fett responded as he typed a sequence into his controls in order to lock the three TIEs to his ship. "And just so you Lyians know, we have three microjumps and a thirty-six hour run ahead of us. Enjoy."

---

_"Papa!" She yelled, running across the hot sand. "Wait for me! Don't leave me behind!"_

_She reached out for the figure hidden in the sandstorm and started to cry. She didn't want to be left in the desert alone._

_"Papa!" She cried harder, the tears falling in streaks down her filthy face, her long hair falling into her eyes and covering her vision. "Wait…!"_

_She fell to her knees, the heat penetrating her thin clothing, the air suffocating her with every breath. The sand was too thick to see through now and the air was becoming clogged as the storm raged in around her. Clinging to a torn and dirty bantha doll, she buried her face into the worn hide and started to wail, the moans leaving her lips without sound. _

_After a time, the screaming wind began to die and the sun became less intense. When she looked up, she was no longer in the middle of a desert. There was water, a city, white sand. Naboo. Looking down at her hands, she was not surprised to find them long and calloused. Tendons stood out from her white skin, long and powerful. _

_A splash sounded to her left and she looked up to see herself as an adolescent emerging from the water. She moved with the grace of a killer despite being so young; every muscle in her body was lean and fit. She pulled on a dry tunic and boots that had been left on the shore before passing by and walking towards a ship parked not very far away. The _Slave

_Standing, she followed her adolescent self into the familiar ship and was not surprised to find a standoff between a half-breed prostitute, herself, and Boba Fett taking place. This was all so familiar; it had happened before. That had been her at the age of fifteen, ready to run and ready to kill._

Pew-pew_…_

_She was brought back to the scene and out of her thoughts by the sound of blaster fire. The half-breed ran past her and out of the ship. By the time she looked back, the blaster had disappeared and Fett and herself were arguing over something, the words lost to time. With a rude gesture, her adolescent self spun away to leave the argument only to be forced back by the powerful hand of Fett on her shoulder. Screaming ensued before she watched herself slip by the man and into a cabin._

_She blinked. The scene changed._

_"Where do you think you're going, girl?"_

_She was packing things into a duffle bag._

_"Away from you," she heard herself say. "Away from this fucking ship."_

_"You can't leave."_

_"Just watch me."_

_She spun around the moment he grabbed her shoulder and ground a blaster into his gut. He hardly grimaced._

_"There's no need for that."_

_"Get out of my way, old man."_

_He regarded her for a moment and shook his head._

_"You wouldn't dare."_

_"Wouldn't I?"_

_She began to squeeze the trigger; he didn't know the gun was locked. In an instant, she was thrown across the room, her head hitting the wall with a mind numbing_ THWAP! _The room span for a moment. She stood up._

_Taking off at a dead run, she shoved him out of the way before sprinting off the ship and into the city._

_She stopped. Her head didn't hurt. It was dark. A baby cried. She wailed._

_Before her stood a man. A young man. A boy. Her son. His eyes were bright, his irises barely visible for their colour. They were blue. This wasn't Jaxon._

_Her vision tunneled as she was thrown backwards into space to hover above the galaxy; the stars flickered violently. The man held a lightsaber high above his head, the galaxy rolling beneath him, the planets burning. He laughed, his blue eyes flashing with delight and anger._

_"No!" She cried as she fell._

_He laughed harder. _

_She kept falling._

"Nooo!" Keilana's throat tore with the scream and she started coughing violently. Spitting up a glob of blood, she looked at the three Jedi and blinked several times.

"Are you all right? Keilana?" Jacen looked at her from where he sat across the room. His face was red from the constant, harsh light and his skin was glistening. The raw tattoo on his shoulder was puffy and looked infected but his mind was only on Keilana and his concern for her.

It wasn't until all three of the Jedi were studying her intently that she said something.

"It started out as a dream," she said slowly, her throat raw from her cry. "Just a dream like any dream I've had before. I was lost in the desert, I was getting off my father's ship, arguments, whores, nothing out of the ordinary."

"You don't tear up your throat over ordinary dreams," Kyp said, rubbing at the scabs on his wrists. No one had come to replace his restraints just as no food or water had dropped through the ceiling in quite some time. The four of them were starting to weaken and sleep was a persistent thing.

"And then," Keilana said, continuing without hearing Kyp, "and then I saw a man. Not Jaxon. Jaxon's eyes are green."

"His eyes are brown, Keilana."

"No, no," Keilana continued. "They've haunted me for my entire life and now he has them. I'm sure he has them. She has them. He'll have them."

Jaina and Jacen looked at each other before looking to Kyp who shrugged. He had no idea what to do.

"He'll have them," Keilana repeated. "But his eyes were blue, and the galaxy was burning, but he was mine."

"Wait," Kyp said. Keilana finally looked up at him, which he took for a good sign. Her eyes, however, were not focused. "Did you say the galaxy was burning?"

"And my son was laughing. He held a lightsaber. But his eyes were blue; he wasn't Jaxon."

Kyp, though worried from the start, grew concerned with Keilana's current state. A lack of water and food shouldn't bring this on, at least not so quickly. He stood up and crossed the small room to Keilana but she stood as well and darted away from him. Turning her back on the three Jedi, she pulled at her restraints and they broke with little effort. Kyp stopped in his tracks as he strained to touch the Force. The moment he grasped it, he reached out for Keilana and was physically repelled away from her. A fantastic storm was brewing around the woman.

Glancing back at the Jedi, Keilana tilted her head to one side. She was obviously in a state of delusion.

"You should eat something, Kyp. We need you in top physical condition if we are going to get out of here." Her dark eyes lightened slightly and changed from brown to a very dark green in the matter of a moment. Again, the three Jedi exchanged glances. Something was very wrong.

Turning, Keilana came up on the balls of her feet and walked a meter away from the Jedi before spinning in a circle like a dancer. Llywen had come to take away their boots at one point; no one remembered precisely when it had happened.

"You said the galaxy was burning," Jacen prompted this time, hoping to learn more about Keilana's vision.

"And it rolled as if trapped in Kamino's waves. It heaved to and fro, the planets burning, the stars _poofing_ out of existence all while he stood atop it laughing in triumph. His eyes belong to Ganner; he won't live to see his son fall."

She held out her arms and looked up to the mirrored ceiling before slowly spinning in another circle.

"He's only nineteen." She arched her back as she said this and lowered into a slow, precise handstand, her movements almost unreal as she touched her bare feet to the floor once again, several meters away from where she had been standing.

After consulting the twins with nothing but significant glances, Kyp started once again towards Keilana. If he was just quick…

Before he could get close enough to induce unconsciousness, Keilana spun towards him and flung him away from her with little effort. He hit the wall hard enough to shatter the mirror; his head made a sickly sound as it made contact with the wall and the big Jedi fell limp to the ground. Jacen and Jaina were on their feet before Kyp landed on the floor, their hands free of the restraints the moment they touched the Force. Keilana glanced at them, her eyes a lighter shade of green, her expression blank.

Jaina started forward this time and just as Keilana responded, Jacen leapt for the woman, knocking her to the ground. Before Keilana could react, he sent a jolt of Force energy through her spine and into her brain. The woman fell limp beneath him, her chest rising and falling steadily. She was unharmed but no longer a danger to the three Jedi. At least not for the time being.

Jaina looked at the woman before looking at Jacen.

"She's falling Jacen."

"That vision was too much for her mind to handle."

"Do you think it will come true?"

"The future…"

"…is always in motion. Yes, I know. But, Jacen, you have to think something."

"I think that whatever it is she saw terrified her." Jacen watched the sleeping woman as he stood up. Wiping his hands on his trousers and touching his infected tattoo lightly, he grimaced. "We need to get out of here, Jaina. The longer we stay the farther Keilana will fall into her mind and towards darkness. And now, now she's no longer just a danger to herself."

He turned towards Kyp and crouched next to the older man. Putting his hands on the back of Kyp's skull, he felt around for a moment before regarding the blood on his hands.

"He's skull seems to be intact but he'll probably be out for some time. Keilana really put some power behind that shove." He used the Force to lift Kyp into the air and away from the shattered glass. "Come help me get this glass out of his back. If you have any spare fabric to bind his bigger wounds, it would be appreciated."

Jaina glanced at her clothing before sighing and removing her tunic. Handing the piece of clothing to Jacen, he tugged at her sweat-stained undershirt and crinkled her nose in disgust.

"I feel gross."

"You smell gross, too," Jacen said with a strained laugh. Jaina looked up at him with a slight smile as she accepted the torn piece of fabric he handed her.

"I think that's you, Jace," she replied as she started to remove Kyp's blood-soaked tunic. His back was bleeding from multiple wounds and was already starting to bruise where the glass hadn't torn at his flesh. Jaina frowned in sympathy as she started to remove the mirror shards that were still stuck in the big Jedi.

---

Keilana groaned as she opened her eyes. Her head hurt. Pushing herself into a sitting position, Keilana looked around. The twins were sitting against the opposite wall, watching her; Kyp was sleeping halfway between herself and them. Blinking several times, she held her face in her hands.

"What happened?" She asked, rubbing at her throat. It was raw and she did not know why. "Why is that mirror broken? How did Kyp get injured?"

The twins looked at each other before Jacen opened his mouth to speak.

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?" Keilana pulled her knees to her chest.

"You had an episode, Keilana," Jaina said. "A vision. And then you freaked out. Kyp was trying to help you and you tossed him across the room like a rag doll. Luckily, Jacen and I managed to knock you out before you went totally insane. It happened…" She looked at her brother. "Yesterday. Maybe. I've lost all track of time."

Keilana's eyes widened as she stood up and kneeled next to Kyp. Brushing a lock of hair out of his eyes, Keilana frowned.

"What did I see?"

"Something terrible."

"Tell me."

The twins looked at each other.

"I think it would be best if we didn't tell you, Keilana," Jacen said. "Maybe when we aren't under duress and out of all this, but I don't want to trigger another episode."

Keilana tilted her head to one side.

"Fair enough," she said after a moment. Standing up, Keilana touched one of the mirrors.

"I wish they would give us some food. I'm starving."

"I think they're trying to keep us weak," Jaina said, her eyes moving to Kyp as he moaned and started to move. "Something big is going to happen."

Keilana stepped away from the mirror and sat down next to Kyp as he pushed himself up onto his knees.

"Sorry," she said when he looked at her.

" 'Snot…your fault." Kyp touched his side and groaned rather loudly. "I shouldn't have assumed that my fourteen years of training would be able stop you."

Keilana grinned.

"Sorry."

"Just don't do it again."

"I'll see what I can do."

Kyp was just about to say something else when one of the panels slid open and Llywen du Kiins stepped through. She held the pommel of a double-bladed lightsaber in her right hand and was looking at Keilana.

"The Crimelord wishes to speak with you—all of you. It's time for you to make your decision, Fett."


	15. Green Eyes

Green Eyes

Keilana was barely holding it together and the three Jedi could see that. They had sensed and had seen the growing darkness in her since they had been captured and now they could feel it breaking against the walls she had constructed. Keilana appeared as if she was going to snap. Again.

As they came to a halt in the grand throne room, Keilana's stance was defensive, her muscles tense and ready for action. Kyp, who was the closest, could actually see her shaking with anger, her fists clenched at her sides, her eyes two dark slits. He was surprised the guards hadn't bound their wrists again now that all four of the captives were free of their restraints.

Aena Lytio was sitting on the thrown as if she hadn't moved since the last time they were brought before her. Her clothing had changed and her hair now fell in a long braid over one shoulder, but otherwise the scene was very much the same. Her two large canines, however, were nowhere to be seen. Kyp studied her as he was led a few steps closer. It was obvious that she knew they were there, but it was also obvious that she was seeing them better than any blind person should be able to. A furrow came to the large Jedi's brow but the question was unable to fully form itself in his mind as Keilana started to speak.

"I know he's here," Keilana said, her voice demanding the full attention of everyone present. Her mother simply tilted her head to one side and blinked. Once. Twice…

"Who, dearest?" She asked as if feigning innocence. The tone only made Keilana shake harder.

"You know damn well who I'm talking about. Give me back my son." Keilana seemed to break down. "Jaxon… I know he's here. Please…"

"Your son? Little Jaxon?" Aena gestured to the shadows, which stirred. Her eyes never moved from where they were fixed.

Keilana's own eyes shot in that direction and held the two golden orbs that had appeared. She could feel him there, her son, and she wanted so bad to see him, to hold him, but the Fin Ghula remained where she was in her cover of shadows. Kyp hadn't even seen the alien woman leave their escort.

"Yes, Jaxon." Keilana's voice was pained, her eyes straining to see her child in the shadows. She sounded more desperate than before. Aena chuckled deep in her chest as she smiled. The smile widened as Keilana breathed: "Please."

"I've grown quite fond of him, my love. I might just keep him."

Keilana's whimper was barely audible.

Even though he had already witnessed Keilana's breakdown, Kyp found this hard to watch. He had never seen her beg for anything nor was he able to imagine her doing so but seeing her practically on her knees was too painful to watch. Kyp had to turn away.

"Just let me see him," Keilana whispered. "I just want to see my baby. Oh, Jaxon…"

Aena's smile widened into a grin as she motioned Llywen out of the shadows. The blue-skinned female stepped slowly into the light, Jaxon cradled in her arms. Keilana seemed to calm for a moment—Kyp could feel the relief roll off of her—until the boy opened his eyes and looked directly at his mother. Keilana sucked in a breath as her dream from Geonosis returned, her mind swimming with her grandfather's words, her vision filled with the green eyes of her mother that now belonged to her son.

Kyp and the twins exchanged glances; there had been truth in her delusional rambling.

Aena broke the silence: "Your son will be yours if you come sit by my side, my dearest Keilana. Until then, he will remain mine, just as he is now."

The throne room fell once again into silence, all eyes on Keilana, waiting for her answer, for her reaction.

Wailing, Keilana clutched her face in her hands and sunk to her knees. Kyp was just about to kneel by her side to offer comfort when Keilana's presence in the Force flickered. He paused mid-kneel in shock and horror. He had seen this before; it had happened to him. Standing, Kyp barely had time to turn to warn the twins before the Force exploded in to a white-hot pain that numbed his mind. He gasped and fell to his knees gripping the sides of his head—the twins mimicked his actions in their own pain. Llywen recoiled a step, her legs shaky, as Aena started to laugh.

Breathing heavily through her teeth, Keilana looked up at her mother, her eyes on fire and glowing green. Aena's laughing stopped almost instantly as she held her breath and stared down at her daughter, fear blossoming in her green eyes. She hadn't been afraid in any of the long years since she had abandoned her daughter in the arms of a ruthless bounty hunter.

And then Keilana stood. As she did so, purple lightning danced across her palm from tip to tip of each flexed finger. Glancing at the ground, she did not blink as she rose her left arm and the room started to shake. It was slight at first, enough to loosen dust, but the shaking quickly escalated and grew more violent as cracks formed in the walls and danced across the ceiling. Though the flickering of the lightning intensified the more the room shook, Keilana did not release it, the ball of energy simply growing in her outstretched palm.

Kyp, who was eventually able to fight off the blinding pain, rose to his feet and looked between the fear stricken Fin Ghula and Keilana. He knew he had to get the child to stop Keilana but if Keilana did not stop soon, she would bring the ceiling down, killing them all. Without a chance to think, Kyp sprinted towards Llywen, holding his hand out for her lightsaber; she didn't have time to react before Kyp activated one of the double-blades. He feinted from his original high line of attack and brought the blade towards her torso, just below where Jaxon lay cradled in her arms. Llywen threw the Force into her leap backwards, the tip of the blade singeing the exposed skin on her arm. Jaxon barely made a sound, unaware of how close the blade had come to him.

Swearing under his breath, Kyp watched Llywen as she started a slow circle around him. She had the advantage, there was no doubt about that. It was not due to her training—Kyp was the superior Jedi by all means—but the fact that she held a child, a child that Kyp desperately wanted to save. She could throw young Jaxon in front of the blade or toss him to the side in order to defeat or distract her enemy. Because of that, Kyp simply had to outmaneuver or out trick her. He grimaced, simple indeed.

Ignoring Keilana and the guards who had come creeping into the large room, Kyp watched Llywen for patterns in her step, falters in her movement. When nothing immediately presented itself, Kyp grew frustrated. He didn't want to engage in anything that could potentially harm the child, but to defeat the young alien, he would have to. Deactivating the lightsaber, he held it firmly in his hand; Llywen's surprise was evident as she paused mid step. Kyp grinned; the fault was barely noticeable, but it had been there.

Cautiously approaching Llywen, Kyp began to withdraw into the Force ever so slightly. Her golden eyes narrowed in suspicion. She did not know what he was doing, but she knew that something was going on. Quickening her step, Llywen continued her circular movements as Kyp approached her.

Positioning his thumb over the activation pad, Kyp sped up the process of dampening his presence in the Force (a trick he had picked up from Keilana). Forcing Llywen to look at him, he made sure she caught the exact moment he completely disappeared.

Her stumble was more obvious this time and Kyp reacted with lightning speed. The lightsaber came alive with a flicker of his thumb and Llywen had no chance to feint away from his attack. With incredible precision, the midnight blade of her stolen lightsaber arched towards her thighs, dismembering them from her body. The Fin Ghula screamed as she fell and did not fight Kyp as he took the child from her arms. Instead, she arched her back in pain, her fingers curling, her nails drawing blood from her palm. A dreadful wail escaped her lips in her agony.

Turning his attention from the woman and looking up as he held the screaming child to his chest, Kyp started in surprise. Was that Boba Fett? By the time he turned to get a better view of the far off entry, the man had disappeared. Kyp blinked, sure that he was seeing things and turned from the whimpering female alien. He was just in time to see a tall woman in a black flightsuit advance towards a pair of stunned guards (they were watching their Crimelord), a long dagger held in third. Her hair was braided and beaded and her blue eyes were alight with anticipation as she thrust her blade through one man's back. The tip tented his tunic where it emerged from his chest; Kyp could see Seva's fencing background as she held for a moment before withdrawing to fend off an attack from the other guard. She feinted to the left and lunged forward, her blade sliding into the man's abdomen at a downward angle. The guard seemed to stare at the beautiful woman who had taken his life before sliding off her blade and joining his companion in a heap on the floor.

All the while, Keilana was continuing to hold an ever-growing ball of lightning, oblivious to the events happening around her. Her eyes were only on her mother, her mind only on revenge.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyp saw Seva's wingmates creep into the room, their blasters held to cover their leader. Seva was wiping her blade of the guards' blood as she looked to the twins, her brow furrowed. Both Jacen and Jaina were still clutching the sides of their heads, the Force screeching through their minds. Kyp—who's mind was still reeling from the pain—yelled out for Seva and pointed at the twins. Picking up on what he had to say, she turned to her wingmates and gestured to their unused daggers.

"Jacen!" Kyp yelled above the cracking and rumbling of the cavern. Jacen twitched and looked up at Kyp, the movement obviously painful. With a sympathetic glance, the older Jedi pointed at the two Lyians in the doorway as they were drawing their daggers. Nodding, Jacen roused his sister out of her pain and held out a hand for one of the daggers as they were tossed into the air. Jaina imitated his move. Before the wave of thugs that was pouring into the room could reach the small group in the middle, the twins were armed and ready for a fight, their movements sluggish as they attempted to touch the Force through their pain.

Turning back to Keilana who had not moved since he had last looked at her, Kyp started to run through all of the possibilities for stopping her. The task was difficult considering all that was going on around him. The Crimelord was gripping her throne in pain, her head thrown back, the veins in her pale skin throbbing a dark blue while Keilana simply smiled, reveling in her mother's pain and using it to grow stronger. The lightning in her palm flashed towards the blonde woman without reaching her but Aena jerked nonetheless, a tortured moan escaping her lips.

Holding Jaxon tighter in his arm, Kyp started to cross the floor to Keilana, his mind slowly coming to a decision on how to stop her. The best way—the worst way—was the only way he thought effective enough. However, he did not have the chance to act. Keilana suddenly pulled her eyes away from her mother and turned towards Kyp, a smile crossing her lips. She held up her other hand to stop his progress, laughter dancing through her eyes, her irises and pupils lost in the lightning light. Before he could cry out for her to stop, a fork of lightning flickered from her fingers and Kyp was just able to stop it with his borrowed lightsaber before it hit the child in his arms. Jaxon immediately started to wail, his voice carrying to the ceiling as his mother's anger intensified.

Before long, Keilana turned her attention back to her mother. Aena had slouched in the throne and was barely able to move. All she could do as Keilana approached her was widen her blind eyes in fear.

"I've only ever wanted to love you as you should have been loved!" Aena cried as Keilana paused at the base of the dais. She tilted her head as if to look at the woman three steps above her and closed her palm, the lightning flashing brilliantly as it was contained. "I fought for you, my child, my love, my dear Keilana. I never meant to hurt you, only to love you."

"You've never been able to love, Mother," Keilana said, her voice distant and unlike her own. The twins stopped fighting the guards and turned towards Keilana and the Crimelord, just as the guards did. The three Lyians paused, smoke rising from their blasters, to watch something they barely understood. The throne room fell silent except for the rumbling of the failing stone as all eyes watched mother and daughter. "You've haunted my dreams for longer than I can remember and I want you out of my head."

"I'll give you anything—gold, riches, a whole starfleet for you to command. Please, please just spare me as I did you years ago on Coruscant."

Tears glistened in Keilana's eyes and she fell silent, the lightning in her palm nearly disappearing. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and shaking with the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

"You gave me to a man who hardly cared for his own life, let alone that of another being. I am lucky I survived but I would never consider what you did to me a favor."

"They would have killed you, Keilana," Aena said, tears falling from eyes that could not see. She lifted a hand to touch her daughter's cheek…

---

All intentions he had to save his daughter were wiped from his mind the moment he laid his eyes on Keilana. This was not the girl he knew. She looked dangerous and not in the way he had raised her to be. Fett actually found himself flinching as a bolt of lightning escaped his daughter's hand to flicker dangerously close to the woman sitting on the throne. The woman who had borne his child.

He narrowed his eyes as he slinked through the shadows, watching the scene in the center of the throne room. He could care less for the fighting Lyians and the Jedi and the pile of bodies they had amassed around them; his eyes were set on mother and daughter. How could things have gotten so complicated? Before this his life had seemed so simple. His father's death (and the beginning of his life) had been simple. Even raising Keilana seemed simple in comparison. Somewhere along the way, however, a former lover had grown twisted and his daughter had fallen deep into her own pain and anger. He felt out of control. Fett hated being out of control.

He was just about to draw his rifle to assist the Jedi when the throne room fell still and silent. The click of his safety lock seemed to echo through the hall as all eyes turned towards Keilana as she advanced on the throne. Though he could not hear the words they exchanged, he could imagine them by the pain in both women's eyes. He started to lower his blaster just as Aena reached up for her daughter's cheek, her finger's barely brushing Keilana's skin.

Keilana sobbed once, the lightning in her palm flickering to almost nothing.

And had it not been for the guard who suddenly decided to take action, Keilana would have accepted her mother's touch. As it was, Keilana stood and and spun on her heel to envelop the man in purple lightning. His cries and screams of pain shook Kyp into action as well. Handing Jaxon to Jaina—who took the child without a word—Kyp pushed the guard away from Keilana's fury and ran towards the woman. Before she could react, Kyp brought his midnight blade down on her shoulder, severing her left arm from her body. Keilana howled in pain and would have turned her anger on Kyp had he not brought around his pummel and caught Keilana across the forehead. Fighting unconsciousness, her eyes locked on Boba Fett as she started to fall.

"_Papa_!" She screeched, her mind folding in on itself as her eyes rolled back in her head. Before people could turn to see him, Fett disappeared into the shadows.

---

As Keilana crumpled to the ground, Aena fell limp in her throne and the shaking stopped. The Crimelord's blind eyes fell on Keilana where she had collapsed and Kyp could see the tears that dripped from the blonde woman's eyes as he bent to scoop the bounty hunter up. Keilana's head lolled towards his shoulder, her forehead bleeding and purple as a bruise started to form. She groaned and her eyes flickered for a moment before she fell limp with a sigh. Though Aena was blind, her gaze followed Kyp and his suspicions were confirmed; Keilana's mother was Force sensitive and unaware that she could not physically see. Kyp held her in his gaze for a moment before turning around and starting across the throne room.

The guards who moved to stop them from leaving suddenly found themselves rooted to place as Jacen glanced in their direction. He held out his hand and used the Force to rip the weapons from their hands and throw them across the room. Seva, in the meantime, was gesturing and yelling to her wingmates to escort Kyp to the hanger.

Jacen allowed the Lyians and the other two Jedi to pass him before he gave the thugs one last look. Glancing to the spots where Llywen lay moaning and the Crimelord lay motionless in her throne, Jacen turned from the room just as the ceiling began to crumble. He could hear the scramble behind him as men tried to save their Crimelord and dart for safety all at the same time. The moment he turned a corner, however, it was all out of his mind. They had to find a ship and fast before the entire complex came down on their heads.

It took Kyp and Jaina little time to find the hanger and less time to find a ship. The Lyians went to their own Phantoms; the _Slave I_ was gone. Jacen went immediately to the cockpit to start up the engines and Kyp and Jaina took care of their charges, respectively. As soon as Jaxon was safely strapped in, Jaina joined her brother and it was not long before they were in the air and out of the hanger. Kyp came to the cockpit just in time to see the compound crumble from the damage Keilana had inflicted upon it.

As soon as the magnificent dome collapsed, Keilana's scream echoed through the small ship and the Jedi did not need to ask each other what it could possibly mean.

Aena Lytio was dead and the nightmare the young woman had been running from for so long had ended.


	16. Epilogue

Epilogue

After they returned to the Jedi Temple, Keilana was silent for a long time. She spoke only when she needed to and, though she was friendly with Kyp, he could see the pain that filled her eyes whenever he was near. However, Kyp did not regret the decision he had made. There was nothing else he could have done short of killing her and while Keilana claimed to be thankful for that, he knew she would remain quiet around him for a long time.

At first Keilana refused the cybernetic replacement offered to her, claiming that she could learn how to do things with her right hand. However, after only a week without the arm, Keilana gave in and had one constructed. Luke, though worried about the young woman and her brush with the Dark Side, had chuckled when he heard the story from Ganner.

It was on the day she was to receive the prosthetic and just before the surgery that Luke Skywalker came to see Keilana for the first time since she had woken up. She looked up from her blankets in surprise as the Jedi Master strolled into the infirmary before her eyes narrowed in accusation.

"What kept you?" She snapped, the words coming out more harsh than she had intended.

"I do not have an excuse, Keilana," Luke said calmly as he drew up to the side of her bed. "I simply have not found the time to visit since you awoke. I came to ease your mind while you were still sleeping and I ordered for the Healers to keep you unconscious until the conflict inside you had calmed but since I have been busy, please accept my apology."

"No, you have no reason to apologize," Keilana said, waving a dismissal with her one hand. "Instead, I'm the one who needs to apologize."

Luke's brow raised in surprise. "For what, Keilana?"

"For everything," she said with a shrug.

"How do you mean?"

"I've created so much turmoil within the Academy since arriving and have set people against loved ones without any intention of doing so. I've started more trouble than I'm worth and I've brought people into near death situations caused by both myself and others. I nearly killed Kyp and the twins as well as myself and my son in my complete and udder hate for the woman who gave me life." She paused, remembering how she almost took her mother's prooffered hand, how she almost gave into the longing she denied. Shaking her head slightly, she continued to speak. "I nearly tore Kyp in two when I unintentionally forced a difficult decision on him, a decision which I do not blame him for. I told you there was no good left in me and yet you took me on and tried to find the light in so much shadow. If not for Aena, Master Skywalker, you would have succeeded. Now I fear we are simply back to square one."

"No, Keilana," Luke said after she finished. "We are not back at the beginning. I must confess that I did see this darkness in you from the start but I also saw a beam of hope, a glimmer of goodness and righteousness that was trapped behind the web you weaved to keep it at bay. Your father made you suppress the beam as he trained you to kill but it always remained, no matter how much you tried to banish it.

"Now, I cannot say that I do not blame you for your trip to the Dark Side. Had you listened to my teachings and had you embraced them as I told you to embrace them, this would not have happened." Keilana snorted and Luke stopped, giving her a questioning look.

"What about your fall? Don't think I don't know about it."

Luke sighed and shook his head. Looking at Keilana, he suddenly smiled. "You remind me of myself, in some ways. When I fell, I was young and foolish with little formal training and a lot of anger. I had tried to suppress the anger through the years and rather than releasing it as I should have, it tangled up in my gut and became a knot that started to twist me from the inside out. Like you, I snapped and when that happened, I had no one but myself to stop me and, I must say, it felt good to let the anger and the raw power of the Force course through me as it did. I, unlike you, was not lucky enough to be surrounded by friends when I snapped and so my anger continued to flow. Had it not been for Kyp," Luke stopped and shook his head as if to ward off a protest that did not come. "If not for Kyp I feel as if you would have fallen so far that no one would have been able to save you, not even yourself."

Luke touched Keilana's injured shoulder lightly. "You cannot forget the scar this darkness has given you, Keilana. The loss of your arm symbolizes your momentary loss of control and how close to death you came. Do not say," he held up a finger as Keilana started to argue, "that you have come close to death before. Everybody has a brush with death at one point or another, and I'm sure that you've had more than your fair share. However, the death you nearly experienced would have been a waking death. Your body would have still been alive and your mind would have remained alert but the torture in your soul and the anger that would have boiled your blood would have been worse than any other death you might have experienced. Your death would have been the blackening of your soul and the loss of your free will as you fell victim to darkness, pain, and anger. Nothing in this galaxy is worth falling to those depths for."

Dropping his hand Luke watched Keilana as she digested his words. What he had said was harsh, it was true, but he had seen friends fall to those depths and he had experienced them for himself. He did not want that pain for anyone else.

"I know that you are upset with Kyp and pained by his decision but he knows better than anyone else what you experienced. He is a valuable friend and I wouldn't want you to push him away for saving your life. For saving your son's life." As Luke spoke those last words, Keilana looked up at him. She had not been allowed to see her son since the mission had returned and it would be some time before Luke allowed for them to meet. He could still sense the darkness boiling in Keilana's mind and he wanted to make sure it was gone or suppressed before mother and child met again. He had not told Keilana the vision he had seen but the fear and pain it evoked was enough to make him cautious—Keilana's son, if touched by darkness, could bring pain and suffering to the galaxy wide and Luke was afraid that Keilana's episode had already sent the child down that path. He did not know that Keilana had had a similar vision.

Keilana's question brought Luke back from his thoughts.

"How is he? Jaxon, I mean."

"He is well, Keilana, and mostly healed from the ordeal."

"What do you mean?"

"His eyes remain green and I do not think they will ever return to the colour they were before."

Keilana seemed to deflate as she sunk into her pillows. "But he is fine otherwise?"

"Perfectly healthy and happily playing with Ganner's patience."

This brought a slight smile to Keilana's lips but nothing more.

There was silence between the two until a young apprentice Healer came to take Keilana to her operation.

"I'm sorry, Master Skywalker," the red-headed boy said. Luke shook his head and smiled, assuring Gil that nothing important had been interrupted. "Then if you do not mind, I am going to take Keilana to have her prosthetic placed."

"Hold on," Keilana said as Gil started to unlock the wheels. The apprentice looked from Luke to Keilana and back again. The two adults ignored him as they held each other's gaze. "I…I just wanted to thank you, Luke. For everything. I…Jaxon…I don't know what would have happened…"

Luke smiled and shook his head. "I understand, Keilana, you don't need to explain. Despite some of your more reckless traits, I assure you that it has been my pleasure."

Keilana smiled at her bed sheets, her eyes wet.

"I…thank you."

Luke smiled kindly and held the woman's eyes as Gil rolled her away. It was not until the gurney had rounded a corner and Keilana was lost from sight that he moved. Tucking his hands into the opposite sleeves of his robe, the Jedi Master turned slowly in his spot and set off to return to his apartment and pregnant wife.

As soon as he arrived, Luke went to Mara and held her close.

"What's this for, Luke?" She asked, gracious but confused.

"Nothing." He paused. "Everything. I would risk the galaxy to protect them, Mara."

"Who?"

"The students, the Jedi." He paused. "My children."

The End


End file.
